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MGINALTOBE 

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\1 


Introductory 


T  is  the  aim  of  this  Booklet  to  present  the  larger  aspects 
of  certain  National  Irrigation  Projects  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  and  on  the  lines  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad. 
It  does  not  answer  questions  of  detail,  nor  supply 
information  about  acquiring  public  lands  and  settling  on  these  projects. 
That  has  been  done  quite  fully  by  the  Reclamation  Service  in  a 
series  of  convenient  little  handbooks.  They  are  written  in  answer  to 
a  great  variety  of  questions  and  will  be  sent  to  all  inquirers  upon 
application  to  the  constructive  engineers  of  the  various  projects  at  the 
addresses  given  below,  or  the  Southern  Pacific  Passenger  Department. 

Our  aim  is  to  show  the  varied  natural  advantages  of  the  irrigable 
lands  included  in  the  projects  we  describe,  and  to  help  the  prospective 
settler  decide  between  them.  We  try  also  to  present  some  of  the 
larger  features  of  the  National  Irrigation  Movement,  and  to  interest 
the  settler  in  the  work  which  the  Government  is  doing  in  his  behalf. 

A  chapter  is  added  to  include  Imperial  Valley,  which  though 
privately  irrigated  is  an  object  lesson  for  any  who  may  still  doubt 
the  value  of  irrigated  agriculture,  but  who  are  debating  the  new 
opportunities  offered  the  homeseeker  under  the  terms  and  with  the 
facilities  afforded  by  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service. 

Orland  Project,   address  Constructive  Engineer  at  Orland,   California. 

Klamath  Project,  address  Constructive  Engineer  at  Klamath  Falls,  Oregon. 

Truckee-Carson  Project,  address  Constructive  Engineer  at  Fallon,  Nevada. 

Salt  River  Project,  address  Constructive  Engineer  at  Phoenix,  Arizona. 

Yuma  Project,  address  Constructive  Engineer  at  Yuma,  Arizona. 

The  Statistician,  U.  S.  R.  S.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Information  Bureau,  U.  S.  R.  S.,  777  Federal  Building  (P.  O.),  Chicago,  III. 


Government  Irrigation 

and  the 

Settler 

CALIFORNIA,  OREGON,  NEVADA  and  ARIZONA 
INCLUDING  A  DESCRIPTION 

of  the 
IMPERIAL  VALLEY  PROJECT 


A.  J.  WELLS 

i 


Published  by  the 

PASSENGER  DEPARTMENT  SOUTHERN  PACIFIC 
San  Francisco,  California 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTHERN      PACIFIC 


(SP 

Government  Irrigation 


IT  is  not  quite  eight  years  since  the  Reclamation  Act  was  passed.  In  that  brief  period 
a  great  national  movement  has  been  organized,  and  more  than  $50,000,000  invested 
by  the  Reclamation  Service.  Not  only  so,  but  it  will  require  $50,000,000  more  to 
complete  the  projects  now  under  way  in  the  West,  the  Northwest  and  Southwest,  and 
this  amount  will  be  expended  in  the  next  three  years  if  Congress  will  meet  the  special 
exigency  and  advance  the  money.  The  results  of  this  vast  expenditure  are  placed  at  the 
service  of  the  settler,  at  the  actual  cost  of  work  done  and  without  asking  for  interest 
on  the  money  invested.  Not  a  dollar  has  been  taken  from  the  pocket  of  the  tax  payer, 
and  not  an  acre  has  gone  into  the  hands  of  a  speculator.  The  working  of  no  system 
is  perfect,  but  here  the  work  has  been  safeguarded  with  much  care,  and  has  been  done 
for  the  benefit  of  bona-fide  settlers,  and  homes  have  been  erected  for  many  thousands 
under  the  most  promising  conditions.  Opportunities  have  been  made  for  a  large  body 
of  citizens  to  own  land — good  land,  passed  upon  by  experts  after  careful  examination — 
land  well  watered,  in  area  sufficient  to  support  a  family,  and  under  the  best  irrigation 
systems  which  money  and  skill  could  construct. 

No  charge  has  been  made  for  the  land.  The  land  is  given  away  under  the  terms 
of  the  Homestead  Act,  and  the  Government  simply  recovers  the  actual  cost  of  the  water. 
Where  lands  are  held  in  private  ownership,  this  ownership  is  limited  to  1  60  acres,  and 
the  rest  is  required  to  be  sold  to  actual  settlers.  The  practical  working  of  the  Service 
is  to  reduce  the  acreage  under  one  holding,  and  to  provide  as  many  homes  as  possible 
on  the  lands  available  for  reclamation. 

Now  it  is  worth  while  to  ask  what  all  this  means.  It  is  a  new  thing  in  our  history, 
a  new  departure  in  the  functions  of  government.  What  is  behind  it? 


DEVELOPMENT    OF    RESOURCES 

The  nation  is  actively  engaged  in  adding  to  the  productive  area  of  the  country. 
Exclusive  of  Alaska  and  outlying  possessions,  one  third  of  the  whole  United  States  is 
vacant  public  land.  Most  of  this  is  untillable,  but  a  vast  area  can  be  made  productive 
and  capable  of  sustaining  a  large  population.  The  reclaimable  area  is  estimated  at 
30,000,000  acres,  and  this  will  provide  homes  for  a  million  families  in  part  on  the  land 
itself,  in  part  in  the  urban  communities  which  will  spring  up  in  the  midst  of  the  new 
farms. 

205695 


GOVERNMENT    IRRIGATION  — SO  UTHE  RN    PACIFIC 


If  we  consider  only  the  twenty-five  projects  upon  which  the  Government  is  now  at 
work,  these  will  add  3,198,000  acres  to  the  crop  producing  acreage  of  the  country. 
Thirteen  other  projects  are  in  abeyance,  pending  completion  of  the  first  series,  and  these 
will  add  3,270,000  acres,  or  a  grand  total  of  6,468,000  acres.  This  great  area  is 
today  practically  worthless,  yet  potentially  it  is  fertile  and  productive.  It  has  been 
pointed  out  that  if  we  take  only  the  acreage  now  being  reclaimed,  it  represents  an  area 
equal  to  the  cultivated  acreage  of  Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire  and 
Florida.  Suppose  these  new  lands  return  equal  revenues  per  acre  with  the  states 
mentioned,  and  make  homes  on  farms  and  in  towns  and  villages  for  80,000  families, 
the  taxable  property  of  the  nation  would  be  increased  $232,000,000  and  the  value  of 
farm  crops  by  $60,000,000.  This  is  worth  while.  It  is  home  making;  it  is  the  develop- 
ment of  natural  resources;  it  involves  national  prosperity;  it  adds  stability  to  national 
life.  The  most  valuable  citizen,  other  things  being  equal,  is  the  man  who  owns  the 
land  from  which  he  makes  his  living.  The  wandering  laborer,  the  restless  miner,  the 
lonely  herdsman,  add  little  to  the  strength  or  safety  of  a  community.  But  attach  one 
of  these  men  to  the  soil,  let  him  own  a  small  farm  and  he  becomes  a  citizen  who  can 
be  depended  on  and  will  add  to  the  stability  of  those  institutions  which  we  most  highly 
prize. 

DEMAND    FOR    FARM    LANDS 

The  need  of  homes  for  men  who  live  by  the  soil  is  a  present  need.  It  is  but  fifty 
years  ago  that  unoccupied  farm  land  could  be  found  within  100  miles  of  Chicago. 
Now  from  the  Mississippi  Valley  to  the  Pacific  the  land  is  opened  up  and  fairly  popu- 
lated, and  the  wave  of  emigration  is  turning  back  and  filling  up  the  places  that  were 
passed  over.  For  the  first  time  in  our  history  as  a  nation,  thousands  from  the  Middle 
West  have  gone  into  British  Columbia,  seeking  cheap  lands  in  the  bleak  Canadian 
Northwest.  What  explains  it?  The  increase  of  population;  the  speculative  abuses  of 
our  land  laws;  the  exhaustion  of  the  land  itself  by  unwise  farming;  and  the  waste  by 
floods  due  to  forest  destruction.  We  hardly  realize  the  destruction  over  wide  areas  by 
soil  erosion  due  to  the  cutting  of  timber  on  the  hills,  nor  do  we  realize  the  extent  of  soil 
exhaustion  in  the  older  states.  Farm  life  is  unprofitable  over  much  of  New  England; 
the  hilly  sections  will  no  longer  yield  the  farmer  a  support.  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Northern  New  York  and  Western  Massachusetts  have  "abandoned  farms,"  and  the 
process  of  deterioration  is  affecting  the  farm  lands  of  Western  New  York,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Maryland  and  Virginia.  The  average  yield  per  acre  over  the  whole  United 
States  shows  a  farm  product  of  but  $1  1.38 — but  little  more  than  a  respectable  rental 
for  first-class  land.  Only  two  states  in  the  Union  show  a  total  value  of  farm  products 
exceeding  $30.00  per  acre  of  improved  land. 

That  this  is  partly  due  to  single  cropping  and  to  want  of  fertilization,  is  doubtless 
true,  and  as  an  abuse  may  be  remedied,  but  the  fact  remains  that  from  various  causes 
the  land  will  no  longer  provide  for  its  increasing  population.  Experts  figure  that  at 
the  present  ratio  of  increase  we  will  have  a  total  population  of  130,000,000  in  1925. 
How  then  will  men  without  farms  get  them? 

This  is  behind  the  work  of  the  Reclamation  Service- — the  needs  of  the  farming  popu- 
lation— the  demand  for  good  land — the  necessity  for  providing  for  an  increasing  rural 
population,  and  of  developing  lands  now  unproductive  upon  which  can  be  built  inde- 
pendent homes  for  the  nation's  citizens. 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTHERN     PACIFIC 


NATIONAL   HOME-MAKING 

"A  free  home  for  every  family"  is  the  American  ideal.  The  natural  unit  of  society 
is  the  family,  and  the  homestead  is  the  condition  of  independence.  It  is  the  first  acquired 
capital.  The  ambition  of  the  normal  American  citizen  is  to  own  a  home  and  the  bit 
of  land  upon  which  it  stands,  and  to  pay  toll  to  no  man  for  the  rooftree  that  shelters 
him.  Especially  does  he  aspire  to  own  the  land  that  feeds  him.  We  do  not  take  kindly 
to  tenant  farming,  and  are  proud  of  the  host  of  men  who  live  on  their  own  {and  calling 
no  man  master.  But  the  independence  of  the  American  farmer  is  slipping  away  from 
him.  The  ownership  of  the  American  home  is  declining.  Glance  at  this  table: 

PROPORTION  OF  FARM  OWNERS  AND  TENANTS 

1880  1890  1900 

Farm  Owners 74.5%  71.6%  64.7%. 

Farm  Tenants    25.5%  28.4%  35.3% 

This  shows  that  in  twenty  years  one-tenth  of  all  the  American  farmers  were  changed 
from  owners  to  tenants.  The  decline  is  not  sectional,  but  is  nearly  uniform  throughout 
the  country.  It  is  a  grave  situation.  The  roots  of  national  prosperity  are  deeply  fixed 
in  the  soil  and  in  the  individual  ownership  of  the  farm.  And  no  movement  so  power- 
fully combats  the  tendency  toward  tenant  farming  as  the  creation  of  homesteads  under 
the  Reclamation  Act.  The  free  man  is  the  man  who  controls  the  sources  of  his  own 
support.  The  tenant  must  take  the  most  overworked  and  impoverished  land  and  raise 
the  least  profitable  crops.  He  has  no  fixed  place  of  abode.  His  annual  rent  is  a 
perpetual  debt  and  himself  and  family  are  mere  driftwood.  He  shares  but  little  in  the 
general  prosperity.  All  times  to  him  are  hard  times.  The  most  important  step  in  national 
progress  is  the  effort  to  provide  homes  for  the  men  who  desire  to  be  independent  and  own 
the  land  they  live  on. 

THE    NEW    FARM    LANDS 

They  are  in  the  arid  and  semi-arid  belt.  Some  of  them  are  under  desert  skies.  But 
it  will  occur  to  you  that  the  Reclamation  Service  is  not  developing  these  lands  as  a  make- 
shift; that  the  Government  cannot  afford  to  provide  water  at  great  expense  for  poor 
lands.  These  western  lands  are  selected  not  simply  because  they  are  irrigable,  but  because 
they  are  fertile  and  will  respond  at  once  to  cultivation  when  moisture  is  supplied. 

You  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  the  ancient  civilizations  began  in  the  arid  lands,  but 
it  has  remained  for  modern  inquiry  to  show  why.  The  ancient  races  chose  the  arid  lands 
because  they  were  better  than  the  humid  lands.  The  soil  expert  today  will  tell  you  that 
the  extraordinary  fertility  of  arid  lands  is  a  quality  inherent  in  aridity  itself.  The 
soluble  substances  which  make  for  fertility  are  not  leached  out  by  the  rainfall  of  cen- 
turies, carried  into  the  country  drainage,  and  thence  into  the  sea. 

They  remain  in  the  soil  and  accumulate  by  the  weathering  of  rocks  in  the  hill  regions, 
by  the  chemical  processes  which  go  on  in  the  soil,  and  they  become  available  for  the 
plant  life  in  the  farmers'  fields  to  draw  upon.  And  the  soil  analyst  will  tell  you  that 
the  soils  of  the  arid  region  lying  west  of  the  1  00th  meridian,  as  compared  with  the  soils  of 
the  humid  region  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi,  contain  on  an  average  three  times  as  much 
potash,  six  times  as  much  magnesia,  and  fourteen  times  as  much  lime.  This  is  the 
scientific  explanation  of  the  fertility  of  arid  lands,  and  it  may  be  accepted  as  true,  that 


GOVERNMENT    IRRI  G  ATI  O  N  —  SO  UTH  E  R  N    PACIFIC 


'•&„ 

»?"•*&. ; 


-  -  - 
••**.,.- 


the  average  arid  soil  is  equal  to  the  most  phenomenal  soil  of  the  east.  And  Egypt, 
India,  China  and  other  regions  of  the  ancient  world,  phenomenally  productive  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  are  in  evidence  to  assure  the  settler  that  these  Western  Arid  lands  will 
not  disappoint  him. 

THE  GAIN  OF  IRRIGATION 

It  is  too  late  to  discuss  the  advantages  of  irrigated  agriculture,  and  we  call  attention 
to  it  chiefly  to  say  that  the  man  who  comes  to  settle  on  land  in  any  of  these  projects 
should  come  with  definite  convictions  and  not  as  an  experimenter.  Irrigation  is  ancient; 
it  is  becoming  modern.  It  is  scientific  agriculture.  It  is  common  sense  applied  to  the 
chief  problem  of  the  farm,  that  of  production.  It  is  an  insurance  against  crop  failure, 
and  with  sure  crops,  larger  crops,  and  crops  of  better  quality,  the  farmer's  business 
ceases  to  be  a  lottery  and  he  becomes  master  of  the  situation.  This  is  especially  true 
under  right  climatic  conditions.  Over  the  dry  lands  we  have  mild  airs,  the  maximum 
of  sunshine,  an  absence  of  cyclones  and  atmospheric  disturbances,  and  great  equality 
of  temperature.  With  helpful  weather  as  one  of  the  certainties,  and  with  moisture  at 
command,  the  intelligent  farmer  knows  very  definitely  what  he  can  do:  his  work  is 
taken  out  of  the  realm  of  uncertainty  and  himself  off  the  rack  of  anxiety. 

The  social  side  of  irrigation  is  seen  in  the  smaller  farms  and  closer  neighborhood,  and 
this  brings  good  roads,  schools,  farm  telephones,  churches,  libraries,  rural  delivery  of 
mail  and  a  social  situation  impossible  where  big  ranches  keep  families  far  apart.  In 
irrigated  districts  in  California,  the  town  and  the  country  grow  together  so  that  it  is 
difficult  to  tell  where  one  ends  and  the  other  begins. 

THE  BEST  FARMERS  WANTED 

The  Director  of  the  United  States  Reclamation  Service,  Mr.  F.  H.  Newell,  says: 
"The  West  is  developing  rapidly.  We  are  putting  good  substantial  settlers  on  forty-acre 
tracts.  They  are  men  of  large  families.  This  dense  population  means  much  for  the 
country  and  for  the  settler." 

But  the  Director  adds  a  word  of  caution:  "The  irrigated  countries  are  no  place  for 
the  poor  farmer.  The  man  who  goes  there  must  use  his  brains  in  all  his  farming.  He 
must  be  willing  to  learn.  He  must  work  hard,  and  he  must  have  some  capital." 

This,  of  course,  is  but  common  sense.  The  amount  of  capital  which  a  man  must 
have  cannot  be  well  stated.  It  will  vary  with  conditions,  and  will  depend  largely  upon 
the  man  himself.  Fair  estimates  are  made  by  the  Reclamation  Service  of  the  cost  of 
living,  and  provisions  are  made  to  help  the  settler  by  advice,  by  expert  knowledge,  and 
by  actual  demonstrations  on  experimental  farms,  where  tests  of  soil  and  seed  of  plants, 
and  of  crops  adapted  to  the  region,  will  be  constantly  made  by  the  Service  and  not  at  the 
expense  of  the  settler.  The  best  methods  of  cultivation,  the  best  way  of  applying  water, 
the  best  fruits  to  grow,  when  to  sow  this  crop  or  that — all  will  be  proffered  the  farmer 
who  is  willing  to  learn.  As  compared  with  the  old  days  of  hard  knocks,  of  exhausting 
labor,  of  bitter  and  costly  experience  in  hewing  out  a  farm  from  the  thick  woods,  in  an 
unknown  region  and  subject  to  the  vagaries  of  a  harsh  and  uncertain  climate,  this 
irrigation  is  but  kindergarten  work,  where  the  learner  is  supplied  with  soil  especially 
selected,  with  water  when  his  crops  need  moisture,  and  with  expert  advice  how  to  plant 
and  sow,  how  to  cultivate,  and  how  to  spread  water. 

11 


GOVERNMENT    IRRIG  ATI  ON  —  SO  UTH  E  R  N    PACIFIC 


GLENN  COUNTY 
COLUSA  COUNTY 


Map  of  the  Orland  Project — Irrigable  lands  shown  in  shaded  sections. 


Yet  it  is  true  that  this  new  agriculture  requires  brains,  and  that  success  is  conditioned 
upon  intelligence.  It  is  high  class  farming  and  involves  planning,  attention  to  details, 
careful  cultivation,  knowledge  of  plant  life,  and  ability  to  decide  what  to  do  next.  The 
man  who  merely  works  never  gets  on.  If  working  could  take  the  place  of  thinking, 
every  mule  might  get  rich. 

It  is  of  first  importance  that  men  settle  upon  these  irrigated  lands  who  have  imbibed 
the  spirit  of  the  new  agriculture,  and  know,  as  their  fathers  did  not,  the  possibilities  of  an 
acre.  To  such  the  Government  is  offering  opportunities,  and  the  right  kind  of  farmers 
will  "make  gbod."  The  faith  of  the  Government  is  pledged  to  this,  and  the  sale  of 
these  irrigated  lands  and  the  success  of  the  farmers  on  them,  will  add  greatly  to  the 
prosperity  of  individuals  and  to  the  permanent  wealth  of  the  nation. 

In  what  follows  descriptive  of  the  general  situation  on  several  of  the  great  irrigation 
projects  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  the  writer  has  the  advantage  of  long  residence  in  the  West 
and  of  intimate  personal  knowledge  of  the  lands  described.  There  is  no  purpose  to 
"Boost"  these  projects,  but  to  give  them  a  fair  setting,  and  show  them  to  the  prospective 
settler  as  they  are,  letting  the  facts  speak  for  themselves.  We  can  say  many  things 
about  these  lands  which  the  officers  of  the  Reclamation  Service  do  not  care  to  say,  and 
our  aim  is  to  supply  such  information  as  the  settler  needs  and  cannot  find  elsewhere. 


The  Orland  Project 
California 


ORLAND  is  in  Glenn  County  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  Sacramento  Valley.     The 
project  located  here  is  one  of  the  smallest,  but  there  are  reasons  why  it  is  of  special 
interest  and  importance.     These  reasons  are,  briefly,  that  it  is  the  first  step  in  a 
great  and  comprehensive  system  of  irrigation  and  drainage,  under  Government  control  in  a 
valley  which   is  naturally  as  fertile  and  productive  as  the  Nile  Valley  of   Egypt.      In 
considering   the   Orland   Lands   the   settler  will   naturally   take   into   account   not  simply 
these  particular  lands,  but  their  location,  their  setting,  the  general  character  of  the  soil 
area  to  which  they  belong,  the  climate  and  products  and  probable  future  of  the  region. 

THE    SACRAMENTO    VALLEY 

This  is  one  of  the  great  valleys  of  the  world,  great  in  area,  in  fertility,  in  beauty  and 
productiveness.  It  has  a  level  surface  of  2,661,120  acres  and  a  foothill  region  which 
is  extensive,  fertile  and  attractive  for  homes.  The  whole  forms  an  almost  continuous 
body  of  very  desirable  land,  the  percentage  of  waste  being  relatively  small,  and  the  most  of 
that  capable  of  being  reclaimed  and  made  productive.  The  great  width  of  the  main 
valley  gives  it  the  appearance  of  a  plain,  and  as  much  of  it  is  dotted  with  wide-topped 
oaks,  standing  singly  and  in  groups,  it  has  the  beauty  of  an  English  park.  Over  it  all 
spreads  the  charm  of  the  typical  California  climate  and  all  that  has  made  the  fame 
of  Southern  California  in  recent  years  is  here  in  climate,  in  products,  in  far  greater 
area,  in  a  more  abundant  water  supply  and  greater  natural  resources. 

The  settlement  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  has  been  delayed  by  the  ownership  of  the 
land  in  great  tracts,  but  the  decline  of  wheat  farming,  the  development  of  irrigation  in 

13 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN      PACIFIC 


•I 

.!§> 


various  parts  of  the  valley  and  the  increase  of  the  population  has  given  to  the  land  a 
greater  value  and  it  is  now  being  subdivided  and  placed  on  the  market. 

VALLEY   SOILS 

Once  a  part  of  the  sea,  or  a  northward  extension  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  the 
valley  of  the  Sacramento  clearly  shows  that  it  has  been  created  by  rivers  and  streams, 
by  erosion  from  the  giant  hills  which  shut  it  in.  The  soil  is  of  very  great  depth,  gen- 
erally it  is  loamy,  and  the  difference  between  soil  and  subsoil  is  here  very  slight.  Hardly 
a  perceptible  change  of  tint  or  texture  is  found  in  going  down  several  feet,  and  material 
from  a  considerable  depth  when  thrown  up  is  fairly  equal  in  fertility  to  the  original 
surface  soil.  That  it  is  at  once  productive,  and  does  not  have  to  lie  and  be  weathered, 
or  to  be  cultivated,  stirred  and  mingled  with  the  surface  soil  is  one  of  the  surprises  of  the 
man  from  the  humid  states.  It  is  all  probably  an  effect  of  climate. 

The  newcomer  from  clayey  lands  will  look  askance  at  some  of  the  light  textured  soils 
of  this  valley,  but  experience  shows  them  to  be  very  fertile  and  lasting.  He  will  need 
to  remember  that  the  soil  here  is  semi-arid,  that  there  are  no  torrential  rains  and  no  rains 
at  all  throughout  half  the  year  and  that  therefore  the  chemical  elements  upon  which  plant 
life  depend  have  not  been  wasted.  Plant  food  has  accumulated  and  the  process  which 
created  these  rich  acres  goes  on  repeating  itself,  recreating  the  soil  year  after  year. 

For  half  a  century  these  valley  lands  have  been  farmed  not  only  without  fertilizing, 
but  the  stubble  of  the  fields  has  been  systematically  burned  every  season.  Farmed  to 
one  crop,  and  after  the  most  reckless  and  exhaustive  forms  of  agriculture,  the  land  is 
not  worn  out,  but  under  irrigation  and  crop  rotation  these  old  wheat  fields  produce 
heavily,  and  the  new  agriculture  is  increasing  both  the  tonnage  and  the  value  of  the 
products  of  the  land. 

This  the  Orland  settler  will  find  around  him;  a  great  valley  and  a  great  body  of 
fertile  and  beautiful  land. 

A  GREAT  POPULATION 

This  will  come  in  time,  and  the  time  will  not  be  long.  The  waiting  period  is 
past.  The  necessary  evolutionary  steps  have  been  taken;  the  order  of  industrial  develop- 
ment has  been  progressive ;  first  the  stock  ranges  then  the  big  wheat  ranches  and  now 
the  diversified  and  intensive  agriculture  made  possible  by  irrigation.  Growth  has  begun  in 
the  only  way  in  which  it  could  go  on  to  the  full  development  of  the  soil-wealth,  and  to 
the  creation  of  an  adequate  agricultural  population.  It  will  go  on  by  the  attraction  of 
the  agricultural  opportunity  here,  and  by  the  pressure  of  the  agricultural  situation  else- 
where. The  soil,  the  climate,  the  special  fruits  of  the  region  and  the  wide  range  of 
farm  products  will  so  attract  settlers  that  there  will  not  be  room  for  the  many  who 
will  seek  a  foothold  here,  while  the  exhaustion  of  our  public  lands,  now  practically  at 
hand,  and  the  pressure  of  population  in  the  older  sections  of  the  country,  will  send  a 
tide  of  homeseekers  streaming  into  this  valley  of  the  West  until  every  acre  is  occupied. 

This  again  is  the  situation  of  the  settler  on  the  lands  of  the  Orland  Project;  he  will 
not  want  for  neighbors.  A  vast  community  is  organizing  on  every  side  of  him.  This 
is  the  first  reason  for  interest  in  the  Orland  Irrigation  Project;  a  great  fertile  valley,  that 
in  time  will  have  an  immense  population. 

A  second  reason  for  your  interest  in  this  project  relates  to  the  reclamation  of  the 
whole  valley. 

15 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTHERN      PACIFIC 


PLAN   A    GREAT   FUTURE 

It  has  been  the  hope  of  the  Reclamation  Service  to  provide  a  comprehensive  system 
so  that  it  might  be  irrigated,  drained,  its  flood  waters  controlled  and  the  river  made 
available  for  navigation.  It  is  worth  while  to  understand  the  relation  of  the  Orland 
Project  to  this  plan.  It  was  considered  the  first  step.  The  engineers  spoke  of  it  as  the 
"first  unit."  The  whole  enterprise  was  so  vast,  so  expensive,  and  involved  so  much  time 
in  its  execution  that  it  was  proposed  to  do  the  work  in  sections  or  units  as  rapidly  as 
funds  would  permit.  In  acknowledging  the  application  of  land  owners  above  Orland 
for  the  construction  of  a  second  unit  the  then  Secretary,  James  R.  Garfield,  said  that  it 
was  the  intention  of  the  Department  to  proceed  with  this  and  other  units  as  funds  became 
available,  and  he  took  further  occasion  to  say  that  "the  plan  was  of  national  importance." 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  this  larger  plan  is  now  "in  the  air,"  owing  to  developments 
in  the  general  work  of  reclamation,  but  there  will  be  no  delay  in  providing  water  for  the 
irrigable  area,  both  by  the  Reclamation  Service  and  by  private  enterprise. 

Since  these  paragraphs  were  written  large  sums  have  been  invested  in  this  part  of  the 
valley  by  Eastern  capitalists,  greatly  extending  the  area  to  be  irrigated  and  colonized, 
and  by  the  time  the  settler  is  well  established  on  his  Orland  lands  he  will  find  himself 
in  the  midst  of  a  great  irrigation  district,  reaching  far  beyond  the  county  lines. 

The  Officers  of  the  Reclamation  Service  have  been  profoundly  interested  in  this 
valley,  seeing  in  it  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  the  fields  for  the  practice  of  irrigation. 
They  have  been  attracted  by  the  large  area  of  available  lands,  by  the  facilities  offered  for 
storage  reservoirs,  by  the  abundance  of  water,  and  the  natural  facilities  for  its  easy 
distribution,  and  by  the  especial  advantages  of  the  climate. 

While  the  Orland  Project  covers  but  14,000  acres  it  is  believed  that  this  will  be 
increased  to  50,000  acres  by  the  construction  of  additional  reservoirs  on  Stony  Creek, 
three  more  having  been  surveyed  and  recommended. 

The  valley  has  awaited  settlement  for  years,  chiefly  because  of  the  occupation  of  the 
land, in  large  tracts,  and  when  the  great  ranches  began  to  be  broken  up,  settlers  still 
stood  aloof  because  of  the  impossibility  of  doing  diversified  farming  successfully  by 
dependence  on  the  rainfall.  Now  that  the  Government  has  taken  up  the  plan  of  a 
comprehensive  system  of  irrigation,  settlers  are  coming  into  the  valley,  lands  are  being 
occupied,  private  irrigation  is  expanding  on  every  side,  and  the  valley  is  certain  to  have 
a  great  future.  This  affects  of  course,  the  question  of  a  holding  in  the  Orland  lands, 
as  it  affects  the  value  of  his  lands,  and  a  man  may  count  himself  fortunate  to  get  a  foot- 
hold where  in  time  he  will  pay  for  his  land  and  his  water  right,  and  by  that  time  be 
part  of  such  an  enlarged  community  that  the  very  increase  of  population  will  add 
immensely  to  the  market  value  of  his  own  acreage. 

THE    CLIMATIC   FACTOR 

Do  not  shy  at  the  word  "Northern"  applied  to  California.  It  has  no  significance. 
Northern  California  has  substantially  the  same  climate  as  Southern  California,  as  warm 
summers  and  as  mild  winters.  Here  we  are  in  the  latitude  of  Central  Spain  and  of 
Southern  Italy,  and  the  same  physical  causes  which  affect  that  classic  region  around  the 
Mediterranean,  determines  the  climate  of  Interior  California.  It  is  even  a  fact  that 
oranges  ripen  here  some  weeks  in  advance  of  Southern  California,  the  reason  being  that 
this  valley  is  more  remote  from  the  ocean  and  shut  away  from  the  sea  breezes,  has  a 
higher  aggregation  of  heat  units  without  being  appreciably  warmer. 

17 


GOVERNMENT    IRR  I  G  ATI  O  N  —  SO  UTH  E  R  N    PACIFIC 


Now  this  is  a  fact  of  practical  value.  Coming  here,  you  come  into  the  climate  of 
the  orange  and  the  palm,  of  the  fig,  the  almond  and  the  magnolia,  and  you  have  the 
same  wide  range  of  products  which  in  the  south  has  made  the  fame  of  California,  while 
here  the  lands  at  present  cost  very  much  less. 

Let  the  farmer  emphasize  the  long  growing  season,  the  possibility  of  two  crops  on  the 
same  land  in  one  year;  the  fact  that  the  great  planting  month  is  February,  and  that 
plows  are  going  from  November  to  March,  that  he  can  plant  something  every  month  in 
the  year,  and  choose  from  a  wide  range  what  he  will  grow ;  that  the  cost  of  getting  started 
in  such  a  region  is  affected  by  the  rapidity  with  which  things  grow,  the  slight  shelter 
which  stock  require,  the  inexpensive  house  which  he  builds  and  the  little  fuel  it  takes 
to  warm  it  and  the  little  cost  of  wintering  stock  where  they  have  green  feed  in  the  fields 
at  all  times — let  him  give  these  things  due  weight  and  he  will  have  the  general  relation  of 
climate  to  his  work.  It  has  a  cash  value. 

RANGE   OF   PRODUCTS 

The  staple  crop  here  at  Orland  under  private  irrigation  is  alfalfa,  but  oranges  and 
lemons  will  now  be  largely  planted.  Table  grapes  are  grown,  figs  and  deciduous  fruits 
of  all  kinds,  berries  and  vegetables  and  corn,  rice,  sorghum,  millet,  maize  and  hemp, 
can  all  be  successfully  grown.  We  could  put  into  a  line  what  cannot  be  grown  here, 
but  the  catalogue  of  available  products  is  very  large. 

The  dairy  will  be  a  feature  of  farm  life,  and  the  production  of  live  stock.  Under 
irrigation,  alfalfa  can  be  cut  six  times,  and  that  valuable  forage  is  most  profitable  when 
fed  to  stock. 

Sugar  beets  will  be  largely  grown  in  the  region,  a  large  factory  being  on  the  river 
in  the  immediate  vicinity,  but  what  the  individual  on  these  project  lands  will  elect  to 
grow,  will  depend  upon  himself  and  upon  the  size  of  his  holding. 

THE   SMALL   FARM 

By  the  terms  of  the  Reclamation  Law,  no  farm  under  any  project  will  contain  more 
than  1  60  acres.  In  this  project  the  lands  are  all  in  private  ownership  and  holders  of 
tracts  in  excess  of  1  60  acres  are  under  agreement  with  the  Government  to  dispose  of  excess 
holdings.  The  farm  limit  here  is  forty  acres,  and  large  tracts  will  be  subdivided  into 
tracts  not  exceeding  forty  acres  in  size.  That  many  units  will  not  exceed  ten  acres  is 
fairly  certain,  as  the  land  is  very  productive  and  capable  of  intense  cultivation.  The 
best  informed  men  believe  that  in  this  valley  forty  acres  are  luxury,  and  that  comfort 
will  be  found  in  half  as  much.  A  good  living  may  be  found  on  ten  acres,  and  the 
Reclamation  officers  believe  "that  as  these  lands  are  settled  and  increase  in  value,  the 
farm  units  will  be  reduced  to  five  and  ten  acre  tracts."  If  so,  it  will  be  at  once  a  matter 
of  economy  and  a  matter  of  experience.  Few  men  would  trust  themselves  on  five  acres  if 
it  had  not  been  shown  again  and  again,  in  every  country  of  the  world,  what  an  acre  will 
produce.  Denmark  is  one  of  the  prosperous  countries  of  Europe,  and  Denmark  has 
150,000  farms  of  from  seven  to  ten  acres,  and  supports  167  persons  to  the  square  mile. 
The  Netherlands  have  a  smaller  area  and  a  larger  population  supporting  448  people  to 
every  square  mile. 

We  may  not  care  to  live  as  European  farmers  do,  but  the  small  farm  is  coming 
chiefly  as  a  result  of  better  methods  of  farming.  The  average  man  will  take  better  care  of 
twenty  acres  of  irrigated  land  and  cannot  practice  intensive  culture  on  more  without  hiring 


GOVERNMENT      I  RRIG  AT  I  ON  —  SOUTH  ERN     PACIFIC 


-** 


«    UNIVLRSITY    I 

J 

help.     But  here  it  is  not  a  question  of  twenty  acres,  if  you  wish  forty,  and  in  this  climate 
and  out  of  this  soil  the  skillful  farmer  can  lay  up  money  for  the  proverbial  "rainy  day." 

LAND    VALUES 

If  these  seem  high,  remember  that  this  is  not  a  region  of  cheap  lands.  Several  things 
affect  land  values.  Thus,  this  land  is  rated  high  in  intrinsic  value,  because  its  soil  is 
among  the  best  in  the  world;  because  it  is  land  with  a  climate;  because  it  is  land  with 
a  superb  water  system;  because  it  is  easily  irrigated  and  finely  drained. 

It  will  be  difficult  to  water-log  this  land  by  wasteful  methods  of  using  water. 

But  the  real  value  of  the  land  must,  after  all,  be  based  on  its  income  producing 
power.  Thus,  land  that  will  return  ten  per  cent  on  a  valuation  of  $400  an  acre  is 
not  high  priced  at  $250  per  acre.  Lands  in  alfalfa  are  now  worth  this  amount,  where 
raw  land  can  be  bought  for  $  1  00  an  acre.  Add  to  this  the  cost  of  water  right, — not  yet 
fixed,  but  approximately  $50  an  acre,  and  very  valuable  lands  are  acquired  at  a  normal 
price.  The  cost  of  delivering  water  is  now  assessed  upon  a  small  acreage.  Additional 
reservoirs  can  be  constructed  without  great  expense,  and  the  cost  to  the  settler  reduced  by 
covering  a  larger  total  acreage. 

That  the  time  will  soon  come  when  irrigated  lands  in  this  valley  will  be  worth  $300 
an  acre  is  among  the  certainties. 

POPULATION   AND    MARKETS 

There  is  a  growing  movement  into  this  valley.  Private  irrigating  companies  are  at 
work  developing  water  for  large  tracts  of  land  aggregating  several  hundred  thousand 
acres.  Large  sums  are  being  expended  to  fit  these  lands  for  immediate  occupancy,  and 
this  in  view  of  the  present  prospective  demand.  There  will  be  here  many  times  the  pres- 
ent population.  This  will  create  values,  and  stimulate  the  growth  of  towns  and  cities. 

Transportation  facilities  are  good.  The  Southern  Pacific  occupies  both  sides  of  the 
valley  and  operates  various  branch  lines;  the  Western  Pacific  reaches  Oroville,  half  way 
up  the  valley,  and  then  turns  eastward  across  the  mountains;  there  is  an  expanding 
system  of  inter-urban  electric  lines,  and  boats  run  on  the  river  almost  to  the  head  of  the 
valley.  San  Francisco  is  1 66  miles  distant,  and  Sacramento  1 00  miles,  the  region 
between  being  full  of  growing  towns  that  feel  the  stimulus  of  the  development  from 
irrigation,  from  the  subdivision  of  great  ranches,  and  the  multiplication  of  farms,  schools 
and  homes.  This  provides  an  expanding  market,  here  at  home,  while  fruit  products 
have  all  the  East  and  the  Northwest,  to  say  nothing  of  the  cities  of  Europe  which  show 
an  increasing  demand  for  many  kinds  of  fruit. 

The  most  important  feature  of  Western  progress  for  the  years  just  ahead  of  us 
will  be  the  settlement  of  the  Sacramento  Valley,  and  the  Orland  Project  is  sure  to  be  the 
center  of  a  great  farming  community.  Water  is  abundant,  the  climate  is  delightful,  and 
the  soil  is  of  the  highest  type  adapted  to  a  wide  range  of  products. 

The  great  growth  of  Orland  in  the  last  year  is  proof  of  the  wide  interest  in  irrigation. 
Land  owners  under  the  Project  have  increased  100%  and  the  size  of  land  holdings 
under  one  ownership  has  decreased  from  an  average  of  one  hundred  acres  to  forty-seven 
acres. 

21 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN     PACIFIC 


Head-gates  on  the  north  bank  of   the   Link   River,   part   of   the   Klamath    Project. 


The  Klamath  Project 
Oregon-California 


HERE  Southeastern  Oregon  and  Northeastern  California  are  united  by  the  Recla- 
mation Service  in  a  great  irrigation  system,  which  involves  lake  drainage  as  well  as 
the  irrigation  of  dry  upland  valleys,  and  is  destined  to  create  on  the  edge  of  the 
wilderness  a  large  productive  area.      Long  a  stock-growing  region  on  the  margin  of  ex- 
tensive forests,  this  is  a  promising  field  for  the  general  farm,  and  opened  now  by  the  advent 
of  railroads  will  develop  rapidly.      Details  of  the  irrigation  scheme  and  the  methods  of 
acquiring  land  are  left  out,  and  we  are  here  concerned  with  the  general  situation,  the 
setting  of  these  lands,  their  producing  capacity,  and  the  outlook  for  population  and  agri- 
cultural growth. 

AN    INTER-MOUNTAIN    BASIN 

The  Klamath  Country  takes  its  name  from  a  series  of  mountain  lakes  on  the  borders 
of  California  and  Oregon.  On  the  north  the  mountains  are  heavily  timbered,  but  in 
other  directions  the  spurs  and  ridges  have  but  scant  arid  growths  of  brush  and  shrubs 
with  scattering  pines. 

The  principal  and  central  lakes  in  the  basin  are  the  Upper  and  Lower  Klamath  and 
Tule  Lake,  and  the  valleys  are  Klamath,  Lost  River,  Poe,  Yonna  and  Langells. 

South  of  the  interstate  boundary  line  the  low  hills  encroach  upon  the  margin  of  Lower 
Klamath  Lake  and  then  open  out  into  Butte  Valley.  This  valley  has  perhaps  40,000 
acres,  and  a  prosperous  settlement  with  several  small  towns  has  grown  up.  It  is  the 
nearest  farm  neighborhood  having  a  large  acreage,  and  the  irrigable  lands  of  the  Klamath 
Project  reach  down  nearly  to  the  borders  of  Butte  Valley. 

The  two  Klamath  Lakes  are  joined  by  a  short  waterway  one  and  one-quarter  miles 
long,  and  having  in  that  short  distance  a  fall  of  sixty-three  feet,  showing  the  different  level 
of  the  two  lakes.  They  are  drained  by  Klamath  River,  which  flows  into  the  ocean,  and 
they  are  fed  by  numerous  large  springs  and  by  two  small  rivers. 

Tule  Lake  has  no  outlet.  East  of  it  lies  a  small  lake  named  Clear,  which  gives 
rise  to  Lost  River.  This  winding  stream,  starting  in  California  passes  into  Oregon, 
wanders  through  all  the  upper  tier  of  valleys,  and  coming  back  to  within  a  few  miles 
of  its  starting  point  falls  into  Tule  Lake  on  the  California  side.  The  source  of  the 
river  will  be  cut  off  and  Tule  Lake  drained  and  reclaimed. 

The  average  elevation  of  the  Klamath  Basin  is  4 1  00  feet,  or  a  little  lower  than  the 
Salt  Lake  Valley  in  Utah.  The  whole  area  to  be  reclaimed  embraces  about  1  80,000 
acres,  50,000  of  which  are  of  the  marsh  type  and  the  remainder  volcanic  or  basaltic. 

THE    CLIMATE 

The  climate  has  two  relations,  one  to  the  farmer's  health,  another  to  his  crops.  It 
is  worth  while  to  study  them  both.  Do  not  be  misled  by  the  terms  "basin,"  "marsh 
lands"  and  "drainage."  This  is  a  mountain  basin  in  which  the  drainage  is  naturally 
good,  and  where  the  valley  lands  are  so  high  up  in  the  free  air  that  no  miasms  are 
afloat  and  chills  and  fevers  are  not  in  the  experience  of  the  oldest  settlers.  It  is  not 
only  a  high  air  but  a  dry  air. 

23 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN      PACIFIC 


Map  of  the  Klamath   Project,   showing  irrigable   lands   in  shaded   section. 


The  annual  precipitation  averages  but  fourteen  inches  and  falls  chiefly  during  the  winter 
months.  Snow  falls  occasionally,  though  some  winters  are  "open"  and  have  but 
slight  "flurries"  of  snow.  The  temperature  has  fallen  to  zero  but  a  few  times  in  the 
past  fifteen  years. 

The  summers  are  not  hot  and  have  uniformly  cool  nights.  There  are  occasional  late 
frosts  in  the  spring,  but  a  general  absence  of  severe  storms  and  high  winds.  The 
prevailing  summer  weather  shows  little  variation,  and  is  marked  by  an  abundance  of 
sunshine  and  by  those  atmospheric  conditions  which  produce  at  once  bountiful  crops 
and  good  health.  The  air  in  general  is  dry  and  bracing,  and  full  of  the  ozone  of 
mountains  and  forests. 

As  the  great  bulk  of  farm  products  in  this  series  of  valleys  will  come  from  irrigated 
lands,  the  relation  of  climate  to  production  is  of  consequence.  Far  removed  from  the 
sea,  and  with  little  cloudy  weather,  the  growing  season  is  long  and  favorable,  and  with 
water  at  command  the  question  of  production  is  not  a  difficult  one.  The  countries 
in  which  irrigation  is  the  great  factor,  are  of  course,  the  dry  countries,  where  summers 
are  warm  and  the  air  is  dry.  Here  the  seasons  are  mild,  and  the  farmer  is  not 
likely  to  be  buffeted  by  unfavorable  weather.  He  finds  a  fairly  uniform  temperature, 
and  with  moisture  when  his  crops  need  it,  he  can  count  with  much  certainty  on  his 
harvests.  - 

CHARACTER    OF    THE    SOIL 

This  is  a  lake  district.  It  is  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  mountains.  The  wash  from 
the  higher  areas  has  been  going  on  for  many  centuries.  The  result  is  the  shallowing  of 
the  lakes  and  the  creation  of  much  desirable  land  on  the  lake  margins.  The  Upper 
Klamath  Lake  is  surrounded  by  wooded  mountains  reaching  to  its  shore  line  but  its 
northern  end  has  been  filled  in  by  erosion,  and  is  now  occupied  by  farms  and  a  small 
town.  The  lower  lake  has  receded  until  several  thousand  acres  have  been  uncovered 
and  are  under  cultivation.  It  is  easily  seen  that  the  water  surface  of  both  lakes  was 
formerly  much  more  extensive  than  it  is  now.  Nature's  process  of  reclaiming  waste  lands 
by  soil  washed  from  the  hills  is  going  on  here  with  considerable  rapidity  and  will  go  on 
even  more  rapidly  as  the  forests  are  cut  away  and  erosion  increases. 

To  this  natural  process  is  now  added  the  direct  work  of  the  Reclamation  engineers 
in  the  draining  and  reclaiming  of  marsh  and  tule  lands  in  shutting  off  supplies  from  large 
lakes  and  providing  for  the  drainage  and  uncovering  of  lake  beds  by  evaporation.  The 
result  will  be  the  recovery  of  large  areas  of  the  best  lands  in  the  world,  the  marshy 
margins  and  actual  lake  beds  of  the  great  basin. 

These  constitute  the  most  distinct  type  of  soil  in  the  Klamath  Country.  It  appeals 
at  once  to  the  farmer-instinct,  and  the  man  of  the  slightest  experience  in  handling  soil 
knows  that  this  is  immensely  fertile  and  productive.  These  marsh  lands  are  of  the  same 
general  character  as  the  marsh  soils  of  the  great  Sacramento  Valley,  but  have  in  them 
less  river  silt,  since  these  soils  are  in  the  main  lake  sediments.  They  are  lighter  too  in 
weight  and  color,  having  in  them  some  volcanic  matter  and  an  unusual  amount  of 
vegetable  material.  They  are  well  supplied  with  the  elements  of  fertility  and  will 
respond  rapidly  to  cultivation.  Like  all  other  soils  of  this  character,  these  marsh  lands 
will  improve  under  cultivation,  being  less  tractable  the  first  year,  and  becoming  more 
productive  as  they  are  stirred  and  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air.  The  preparation  of  this 
land  for  cropping  will  not  be  heavy,  as  it  will  be  fully  reclaimed  before  settlement  is 

25 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTHERN     PACIFIC 


... 


mm, 


> 


made.  The  experts  of  the  Reclamation  Service  consider  that  the  possibilities  of  this 
type  of  land,  once  under  cultivation  are  obviously  very  great.  The  other  soil  in  the 
area  to  be  irrigated  is  called  upland  and  belongs  to  the  dry  valleys  at  some  distance 
from  the  lakes.  These  are  largely  sagebrush  lands  and  are  lava  or  basaltic  soils.  They 
belong  to  the  class  of  soils  found  in  the  great  wheat  belt  of  Eastern  Washington  and 
Northern  Idaho,  and  which  in  the  Yakima  Valley  are  today  producing  such  excellent 
orchard  and  fruit  crops.  These  soils  have  not  only  shown  amazing  fertility  under 
most  imperfect  modes  of  cultivation,  but  give  the  greatest  promise  of  continued  fertility. 

This  is  primarily  a  stock  country,  but  the  upland  valleys  of  recent  years  have 
produced  good  crops  of  grain  without  irrigation.  They  are  light  in  texture,  easily 
worked,  sufficiently  deep  for  thorough  cultivation  and  drainage,  and  have  lain  unoccupied 
or  been  roughly  dry  farmed,  but  have  developed  small  villages,  post  offices  and  schools, 
and  are  surrounded  by  wide  areas  fit  for  ranging  stock.  Under  irrigation  these  valleys 
will  cut  up  into  prosperous  farms. 

AGRICULTURAL    POSSIBILITIES 

We  put  it  thus,  because  the  Klamath  lands  have  not  been  largely  developed.  There 
were  some  old  canal  systems  in  the  basin  and  under  the  ditch,  and  by  means  of  dry 
farming  alfalfa  and  grain  have  been  the  principal  crops.  Alfalfa  makes  two  good  crops 
and  generally  a  third  partial  crop.  Where  the  cuttings  are  made,  the  land  then  is 
often  pastured  with  stock  cattle  in  large  herds.  This  superb  forage  crop  is  staple,  and 
aside  from  the  common  grains  no  special  development  of  diversified  farm  crops  has  been 
attempted.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  region  has  been  isolated,  has  been  a  stock 
country  and  that,  until  within  a  year,  it  was  without  a  railroad.  This  explains  why 
general  farming  has  not  developed,  and  why  the  opportunity  for  great  growth  is  now  at 
hand. 

The  possibilities  of  production  are  very  great  and  the  lands  are  suited  to  a  wide 
variety  of  crops. 

That  this  will  continue  to  be  a  stock  raising  country,  and  become  in  addition  a 
prosperous  dairy  country  seems  evident.  Forage  grasses  grow  here  to  perfection.  Alfalfa 
and  timothy  are  staple.  The  climate  is  not  harsh.  There  are  no  extremes  of  heat 
and  cold  to  interfere  with  growth  and  production.  The  range  lands  will  welcome 
the  farm  crops  for  winter  fattening,  and  there  will  be  enough  live  stock  to  consume  all 
the  irrigated  lands  can  produce. 

Potatoes  are  becoming  an  important  crop  here,  owing  to  their  excellent  quality. 
Cabbage,  celery  and  root  crops  generally  produce  well;  and  in  sheltered  or  protected 
areas  the  hardier  fruits  will  grow  successfully.  Apples  will  become  a  profitable  crop  if 
wisely  planted. 

OPPORTUNITIES 

Klamath  Falls  is  the  commercial  center  of  the  project,  having  a  population  of  3,500. 
It  is  the  present  terminus  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  which  is  building  into  Oregon  by  a 
new  route,  flanking  the  Siskiyou  Mountains.  The  Nevada-California-Oregon  Railroad 
is  building  in  from  Alturas  on  the  east,  and  the  Oregon  Trunk  Railroad  is  now  building 
down  the  Des  Chutes  River,  and  will  open  this  lake  country  to  the  Columbia  River, 
Klamath  Falls  will  thus  become  a  shipping  point  of  some  importance.  It  will  also 
become  a  manufacturing  point.  Great  lumber  interests  find  a  natural  center  here, 

27 


rRUCKEEGARSON 


IRRIGATION  PROJECT 


N  EVADA 

rirh 

a I       ,  i —       — L. 


Map  of  the  Truckee-Carson  Project — Irrigable  lands  shown  in  shaded  sections — boundaries  of  farm  units 
indicated  by  heavy  lines,  private   lands  by  dotted   lines,   railroad  land  farm  units  by  shaded  border. 
Total    acreage    of    each    farm    unit    indicated    by    plain    figures — figures    in    circles    indicate 
irrigable    acreage   in   units   when   less   than   total    area. 


and  extensive  mills  will  be  erected.  The  certain  growth  of  the  town  will  mean  new 
stores  and  shops,  business  chances  of  various  kinds,  and  employment.  Merrill  is  the 
second  town  in  the  district,  twenty  miles  from  Klamath  Falls  in  the  Tule  Lake  Valley. 
Bonanza  is  at  the  junction  of  Yonna  and  Langell's  Valleys,  and  the  irrigated  lands  have 
two  town  sites.  Other  towns  are  in  the  region,  mostly  small  local  centers  of  trade. 

The  lands  in  market  are  largely  in  private  ownership,  and  the  government  land  is  not 
yet  subject  to  entry,  as  it  lies  mostly  within  the  area  to  be  reclaimed  by  drainage. 

The  farm  unit  here  is  1 60  acres,  an  unusual  size  in  Government  projects,  and 
attractive  to  the  general  farmer. 

There  is  at  this  writing,  room  for  about  300  families  and  larger  areas  will  soon  be 
open  to  settlement.  An  Experiment  Farm  has  been  established,  and  a  site  for  an  upland 
farm  is  being  leased,  so  that  the  settler  will  find  aid  in  cultivating  both  types  of  soil, 
and  will  not  have  to  conduct  costly  experiments.  These  Experiment  Farms  are  for 
the  benefit  of  the  settler. 

This  project  is  full  of  promise,  and  the  inquirer  will  do  well  to  secure  such  additional 
information  as  the  Reclamation  Service  can  supply. 


Truckee-Carson  Project 
Nevada 


THIS  great  project  takes  its  name  from  the  Carson  and  Truckee  Rivers,  which  furnish 
the  water.      They  rise  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  and  flow  eastward  into 
western  Nevada,  finding  no  outlet.     The  rivers  lie  in  the  drainage  area  of  what  is 
known  as  the  Great  Basin,  and  none  of  their  waters  reach  the  ocean.     In  order  to  utilize 
the  waters  of  both  rivers,  and  secure  an  ample  supply  for  a  large  area  of  desirable  land, 
the  Truckee  has  been  turned  into  the  Carson  by  means  of  a  large  canal. 

Both  rivers  have  their  rise  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra  at  an  altitude  of  from 
5,000  to  11,000  feet,  and  include  a  large  forested  area  where  the  precipitation  is 
mainly  in  the  form  of  snow.  The  Little  Truckee  flows  into  Lake  Tahoe,  and  the 
main  Truckee  issues  from  it  on  the  northwest  side.  The  Carson  River  Basin  adjoins 
the  Truckee  on  the  southwest,  and  obtains  its  water  mainly  from  the  east  slope  of  the 
Sierra.  Both  furnish  natural  reservoir  sites,  and  the  storage  of  surplus  waters  forms  an 
essential  part  of  the  project.  The  total  water  supply  exceeds  700,000  acre  feet. 

THE    LAND    AND    ITS    LOCATION 

The  tract  reclaimed  lies  on  the  main  overland  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  though 
out  of  sight  of  the  railroad.  The  station  is  Hazen,  and  an  alkali  flat  of  considerable 
extent  lies  between  the  railroad  and  the  irrigable  lands.  A  short  drive  across  this 
brings  the  visitor  to  the  main  body  of  reclaimed  land.  The  chief  town  of  the  project  is 
Fallen,  to  which  a  branch  line  of  ten  miles  has  been  constructed.  Fallon  is  the  county- 
seat  of  Churchill  County,  but  until  the  location  of  this  project  had  a  population  of  but 
twenty-five  people.  It  has  now  upwards  of  1,000  and  promises  to  be  a  town  of  2,500 
in  a  few  years. 

29 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN     PACIFIC 


it      u  fN  i  *  •-  « * 

V          cf 

The  irrigable  area  of  the  first  unit  is  200,000  acres,  of  which  about  half  is  under  the 
canal  and  50,000  acres  are  open  to  settlement. 

The  elevation  is  3,950  feet  above  sea  level  or  200  feet  lower  than  Salt  Lake  City. 
The  mountains,  visible  on  three  sides,  are  barren,  but  on  the  west  sixty  miles  away  are  the 
forested  and  snowy  heights  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

The  locality  chosen  has  long  passed  for  desert,  but  it  is  in  reality  the  bed  of  a  pre- 
historic lake,  and  its  soil  is  formed  of  river  and  lake  deposits.  The  selection  of  an 
irrigation  project  is  based  first  of  all  upon  the  soil,  its  quality  and  area.  A  scientific  and 
chemical  examination  of  the  land  is  made  at  many  points,  and  only  lands  of  the  best 
quality  are  made  to  bear  the  expense  of  water  development.  The  soil  here  is  of  many 
varieties,  sandy,  loamy,  clayey,  adobe  and  black  peat.  On  the  upper  benches  are 
found  a  little  gravel;  otherwise  the  soils  are  not  gravelly.  They  have  the  advantage 
of  being  virgin,  and  are  shown  by  results  to  be  highly  productive.  Experience  shows 
also  that  the  condition  of  this  soil  generally  is  improved  by  use  for  two  or  three  years, 
becoming  more  productive.  This  the  soil  expert  readily  understands.  It  is  due  to 
"weathering"  or  the  exposure  of  the  soil  particles  to  the  sun  and  air.  It  is  to  be  looked 
for  in  reclaimed  marsh  lands,  in  old  lake  beds,  and  in  all  places  where  water  has  stood, 
or  the  soil  has  been  shut  away  from  the  air.  All  soils  are  improved  by  culture,  and 
cannot  be  exhausted  by  right  methods  of  cropping.  It  is  part  of  the  new  agriculture 
to  give  attention  to  tillage,  and  to  put  new  emphasis  upon  the  meaning  of  the  word 
agriculture,  which  signifies  field  culture,  and  the  improvement  of  the  soil  by  stirring. 
This  is  the  first  lesson  which  the  settler  learns  on  the  Truckee-Carson  lands.  They  are 
improved  by  cultivation,  and  will  not  do  their  level  best  the  first  year. 

AGRICULTURAL    NEVADA 

You  may  raise  the  question  whether  Nevada  is  an  agricultural  state,  so  long  has 
it  been  thought  of  as  a  desert,  and  valuable  only  for  the  minerals  hidden  in  its  hills.  But 
any  state  is  agricultural  which  has  good  soil  and  a  favorable  climate,  and  soil  to  which 
water  can  be  applied  in  an  arid  region.  This  famous  mining  state  has  some  very 
productive  farm  lands,  and  small  areas  have  been  under  cultivation  for  half  a  century. 

The  returns  from  the  Experiment  Farm  near  Reno,  and  connected  with  the  State 
University,  show  very  satisfactory  results,  and  the  farms  about  Carson  City,  around 
the  Truckee  Meadows,  and  in  the  Lovelock  Valley  and  elsewhere  are  as  productive  and 
profitable  as  the  average  farm  lands  in  the  Middle  West.  The  very  limitation  of  the 
irrigable  lands  in  Nevada  is  an  advantage  to  the  resident  farmer,  insuring  a  home 
market  for  his  farm  products.  Even  were  water  plentiful,  the  lands  that  can  be  irrigated 
are  limited,  and  the  farmers  of  Nevada  will  never  be  crowded,  or  troubled  by  over 
production.  Staple  crops  will  always  be  in  demand,  and  intelligent  selection  of  locations 
will  produce  large  orchard  crops  for  which  the  mining  towns  constitute  a  ready  market. 

It  is  important  to  keep  this  in  mind.  The  farmer's  problem  here  is  not  production, 
but  disposal  of  products.  Mountain  regions  are  proverbially  prolific  in  all 
that  is  best  in  plant  and  animal  life,  and  Nevada  is  no  exception.  If  her  lands  are 
desert  lands  in  appearance,  they  are  rich  in  phosphates,  and  water  makes  an  oasis, 
turning  the  desert  into  a  garden.  Farmers  make  the  state.  Always  the  enduring 
commonwealth  is  built  around  the  farms.  The  wealth  of  Indiana,  Ohio,  Iowa,  Illinois, 
is  built  upon  their  agriculture.  It  takes  a  rural  population  to  make  a  city,  to  build 

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GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTHERN      PACIFIC 


GOVERNMENT    IRRI  G  AT  I  O  N  —  SO  UTH  E  R  N    PACIFIC 


W%'     V** 


GOVERNMENT    IRRI  G  ATI  O  N  —  SO  UTH  E  R  N    PACIFIC 


railroads  and  trolley  lines,  and  there  is  no  country  on  earth  where  men  can  find  fruitful 
soil  and  a  congenial  climate,  where  good  honest  farming  will  not  make  a  successful  and 
prosperous  state. 

There  is  nothing  like  farming.  When  you  take  minerals  out  of  the  ground  you  leave 
a  hole;  but  when  you  take  agricultural  products  out  of  the  ground  you  can  take 
just  as  much  next  year  and  every  year.  That  nation  that  is  founded  upon  its  cultivation 
of  the  soil  is  the  greatest  nation;  and  no  nation  ever  continued  to  exist  which  did  not 
conserve  its  soil. 

In  the  case  of  Nevada,  her  mineral  wealth  will  long  engage  the  attention  of  the  miner, 
and  mines  that  fail  in  one  place  will  be  succeeded  by  others  in  other  localities,  these 
mountain  ranges  being  seamed  by  veins  of  ore,  but  her  farms  once  developed  are 
abiding.  Their  products  are  in  no  sense  competitive  with  those  of  the  other  states. 
Statistics  show  that  nearly  eighty  per  cent  of  the  desert  crops  are  forage  and  consumed 
at  home.  Here  the  demand  for  home-grown  crops  is  at  the  door  and  assures  the 
farmers  prosperity.  The  cultivated  acreage,  as  we  have  said,  cannot  be  greatly  increased 
while  the  irrigated  lands  will  develop  towns,  the  ranges  will  continue  to  grow  stock  and 
to  require  alfalfa  and  grain  for  winter  feeding,  and  the  established  mining  districts  will 
need  all  kinds  of  farm  products. 

The  population  of  Nevada  is  now  about  1  00,000  as  compared  with  40,000  in  1 900. 

Growth  is  going  on  rapidly,  and  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  the  farmers  can  supply 
the  needs  of  the  state. 

CLIMATIC    CONDITIONS 

These  touch  the  agricultural  side  very  closely,  though  the  farmer  often  ignores  them. 
Right  temperature  has  a  close  relation  to  crop  production. 

The  Nevada  Basin  is  part  of  an  elevated  plateau  extending  far  eastward,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  driest  regions  of  the  West.  The  rainfall  ranges  from  two  to  five  inches  in 
the  year,  and  there  is  practically  no  rainy  season.  Snow  falls  occasionally — snow  squalls 
rather  than  storms.  This  means  an  inch  or  two  of  snow  at  a  time,  which  seldom  lies 
more  than  two  or  three  successive  days.  The  summers  are  warm  and  dry.  The 
thermometer  may  go  to  1 00  now  and  then,  but  the  sensible  temperature  is  only  about 
seventy  degrees,  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  air,  which  produces  rapid  evaporation,  leaving 
the  skin  with  an  agreeable  sense  of  coolness. 

A  feature  of  the  region  is  the  large  number  of  cloudless  days,  probably  300  in  the 
year.  The  sun  shines  some  portion  of  nearly  every  day.  This  produces  evaporation 
from  leaf  surfaces,  promotes  circulation  and  makes  plant  growth  rapid.  There  are  few 
storms,  no  cyclones,  and  high  winds  are  not  common. 

As  compared  with  the  Middle  West,  the  Northwest,  or  New  England,  the  winters 
are  very  mild.  By  the  first  of  March  the  alfalfa  is  starting,  and  by  May  first  it  is 
a  foot  and  a  half  high.  After  May  first  all  tender  garden  vegetables  can  be  planted 
with  safety. 

There  are  few  regions  of  the  world  where  general  health  conditions  are  better  than  in 
this  part  of  Nevada.  Pulmonary  troubles  are  not  generated,  asthma  seems  to  cease  at  once 
the  air  is  breathed,  and  many  ills  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  other  rainy  regions 
are  unheard  of.  The  clear  skies,  the  altitude,  the  dryness  and  even  temperature  favor 
good  health,  and  these  conditions  are  a  specific  for  malaria. 

Water  for  domestic  use  is  secured  from  wells  at  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  and  is  good. 

35 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN     PACIFIC 


• 


FARM    PRODUCTS 

The  great  forage  crop  of  Nevada  as  elsewere  is  alfalfa.  The  absence  of  organic 
matter  in  the  soil  makes  this  crop  a  very  important  one  to  begin  with.  It  leaves  organic 
matter  among  the  soil  grains  and  once  in  alfalfa  a  year,  any  crop  can  be  produced 
which  can  be  grown  in  the  Middle  West.  Alfalfa  yields  from  five  to  seven  tons  per  acre 
and  sells  from  $8  to  $  1  0  per  ton  in  the  stack. 

In  other  crops  the  yield  averages  higher  than  in  states  farther  east,  even  higher  than 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  the  quality  is  superior.  This  is  due  to  the  unleached  soils 
of  this  valley  and  to  the  dry  air  and  abundant  sunshine.  Wheat  will  average  thirty — 
perhaps  thirty-five  bushels  to  the  acre. 

The  Experiment  Farm  connected  with  the  University  has  produced  sixty-seven  bushels 
to  the  acre  and  if  this  shows  exceptional  care  and  skill  it  also  shows  that  better  methods 
on  the  farm  will  increase  the  average  yield. 

Wheat,  barley,  oats,  rye,  potatoes,  onions,  all  vegetables,  are  grown  easily  and 
yield  abundantly.  Corn  is  not  grown  extensively,  owing  to  the  cool  nights  of  summer, 
but  the  Experiment  Station  thinks  it  may  be  grown  as  a  silage  crop  and  for  dairy  feeding. 
It  is  probably  a  matter  of  better  farming  and  of  seed  corn  adapted  to  the  locality. 
The  Station  is  working  for  an  early  developing  variety.  For  hogs  the  dependence  is 
alfalfa,  with  barley,  but  careful  farming  will  produce  corn  for  hardening  pork  for 
market. 

From  the  nature  of  much  of  the  soil,  potatoes  do  exceptionally  well  and  are  shipped 
to  California  and  even  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

Stock  raising  is  a  large  industry  in  Nevada,  but  pasturage  on  the  ranges  fluctuates, 
and  more  and  more  as  lands  come  under  irrigation  the  alfalfa  field  will  become  the  chief 
reliance  of  the  stock  grower.  The  tendency  of  the  business  is  toward  cutting  and  feeding, 
rather  than  pasturing,  and  farms  will  be  devoted  to  stock,  producing  raw  material  to  be 
turned  into  food  for  the  market. 

As  these  lands  settle  up  the  full  adaptation  of  Nevada  soil  and  climate  for  the 
production  of  the  sugar  beet  will  be  recognized,  and  a  sugar  factory  is  now  being  built, 
experiments  having  shown  that  this  is  an  ideal  section  for  beet  production. 

Fruit  has  not  been  largely  planted  in  Nevada,  other  interests  engaging  attention.  Apples 
grown  here  are  remarkable  for  their  quality.  They  have  fine  color  and  size,  superior  flavor 
and  good  keeping  qualities.  Wisdom  in  selecting  location  for  an  orchard,  and  in 
choosing  varieties  will  develop  a  profitable  industry,  the  market  being  at  the  door. 
Many  kinds  of  deciduous  fruits  do  well,  but  more  care  than  usual  must  be  shown  in 
selecting  right  exposures  and  as  near  frostless  conditions  as  the  situation  will  permit.  But 
aside  from  the  commercial  production  of  fruit  each  farmer  may  have  several  kinds 
grown  about  house  and  barn  and  a  garden  of  berries  as  well  as  vegetables. 

FARMS    AND    LAND    VALUES 

The  farm  "unit"  varies  from  forty  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  but  the  average 
size  of  the  farm  is  eighty  acres.  The  idea  is  to  give  each  entry  man  eighty  acres  of 
good  irrigable  land.  A  home  may  be  secured  on  this  project  by  filing  on  a  homestead 
under  the  Reclamation  Law,  by  purchase  from  private  land  owners,  or  by  purchase 
of  Central  Pacific  Railroad  lands.  The  publications  of  the  Reclamation  Service  make 
plain  all  the  conditions.  There  is  a  United  States  Commissioner  at  Fallon,  on  the  project, 

37 


GOVERNMENT    IRRI  G  ATIO  N  —  SO  UTH  E  R  N    PACIFIC 


and  a  Land  Office  at  Carson  City.  Land  with  a  vested  water  right,  and  under 
cultivation  may  cost  from  $30  to  $75  per  acre,  and  railroad  land  adjoining  right  of 
way  and  reaching  back  three  or  four  miles  may  be  bought  for  an  average  of  $5  per 
acre.  The  farmer  who  can  come  to  these  irrigated  lands  with  sufficient  capital  should 
not  economize  by  buying  cheap  lands.  The  cheapest  land  often  costs  too  much.  The 
primary  value  of  land  is  in  its  productiveness  as  expressed  in  dollars,  in  health,  in 
comfort,  in  social  and  market  conveniences  and  agreeable  surroundings. 

SOME    CONTINGENCIES    AND    ADVANTAGES 

There  are  here  now  about  500  families  and  several  small  towns,  a  main  line  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and  two  branch  lines,  while  the  Western  Pacific,  also  an 
overland  or  trans-continental  route,  is  near  by.  The  town  of  Fallen  is  connected  by 
rail  with  the  main  overland  route,  and  the  great  mining  centers  of  Southern  Nevada, 
Goldfield  and  Tonopah  are  reached  by  a  line  running  south.  This  also  connects  with 
Carson  City  and  Virginia  City. 

As  settlement  progresses,  tree  planting  will  add  to  the  beauty  and  comfort  of  the 
region,  modifying  the  climate  and  relieving  the  monotony  of  the  landscape.  Green  fields 
and  orchards  make  the  region  homelike. 

The  low  price  of  good  land,  its  productiveness  under  irrigation,  the  adequate  trans- 
portation at  hand,  the  home  market  for  all  products,  the  terms  upon  which  water 
rights  are  secured,  and  the  permanent  character  of  the  irrigation  works,  are  all  to  be 
reckoned  as  advantages  in  developing  a  self-supporting  home. 

The  Experiment  Farm  of  1  60  acres  will  be  an  object  lesson  under  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  direction  and  help  will  be  freely  given  the  settler  who  may  need  advice 
about  methods  of  irrigation  or  special  crop  production.  This  will  often  prove  to  be 
invaluable. 

There  are  banking  conveniences,  good  school  facilities,  and  established  churches,  so 
that  the  advantages  of  a  pioneer  belong  to  the  settler  without  the  pioneer's  privations. 


Salt  River  Project 
Arizona 


THE  largest  body  of  irrigable  land  in  Arizona,  and  the  most  highly  developed,  is  in 
the  Salt  River  Valley.     This  is  in  Southern  Arizona,  a  region  quite  distinct  in  to- 
pography and  climate  from  the  northern  part  of  the  territory.    About  midway  of  the 
territory  there  is  an  abrupt  descent  of  about  3000  feet,  and  a  change  in  the  nature  and 
aspects  of  the  country. 

In  the  heart  of  this  lower  region  lies  the  Salt  River  Valley,  about  thirty-five  miles  long 
by  from  twelve  to  twenty  miles  wide,  and  its  350,000  acres  are  almost  one  continuous 
body  of  fertile  land.  In  fact  it  is  broken  only  by  the  Salt  River,  which  flows  through 
its  northern  portion  and  the  Gila  River  farther  south,  below  the  Salt  River  Mountains,  so 
little  waste  land  is  in  all  this  area. 

39 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTHERN      PACIFIC 


LOCATION   AND    CHARACTER 

Phoenix,  the  capital  of  the  territory,  is  in  the  Salt  River  Valley,  and  is  reached  by 
a  branch  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific  thirty-five  miles  from  Maricopa  on  the  main  over- 
land route.  The  Santa  Fe  also  comes  into  Phoenix,  diverging  from  its  main  line  at 
Ash  Fork,  190  miles  north. 

The  valley  slopes  gently  to  the  south  and  west,  the  lay  of  the  land  facilitating  irriga- 
tion and  drainage,  but  the  appearance  is  that  of  a  flat  plain.  So  level  and  smooth  is 
the  surface  of  the  desert  or  unoccupied  lands,  as  to  suggest  that  it  had  long  ago  been 
leveled  and  tilled.  In  fact,  the  remains  of  old  canals  are  traceable,  so  skilfully  run 
that  they  serve  the  engineer  of  today,  and  the  remains  of  old  houses  of  great  dimensions 
and  several  stories  in  height  are  here.  Evidently  a  prehistoric  race  lived  here,  tilled  these 
fields  and  gathered  their  harvests,  leaving  behind  little  trace  of  their  existence  save  the 
evidence  that  they  were  farmers  and  irrigators. 

The  valley  has  been  under  modern  cultivation  for  years,  but  the  uncertainty  of  the 
water  supply,  and  the  final  destruction  of  the  dam  by  floods,  interrupted  the  prosperity 
that  was  at  hand,  and  left  much  land  to  revert  to  the  desert.  The  great  cost  of  supply- 
ing water  led  the  Government  to  build  the  great  Roosevelt  Dam  and  to  provide  a  per- 
manent system  covering  240,000  acres.  This  has  made  the  fair  valley  again  a  real 
oasis  in  the  desert,  as  fertile  as  it  is  beautiful.  It  is  a  farmer's  land  in  appearance  and 
in  reality.  The  settlement  of  the  valley  began  in  1  868,  and  the  test  of  soil  and  climate 
in  the  matter  of  production,  and  in  the  range  and  variety  of  crops  has  been  ample  and 
satisfactory. 

THE  WORTH  OF  THESE  LANDS 

There  are  several  grades  or  types  of  soil,  adapted  to  a  wide  variety  of  crops.  These 
are  gravelly  and  sandy  loams,  Maricopa  loam  and  Glendale  loess.  Maricopa  loam  is  a 
heavier  grade  of  the  sandy  loam,  and  Glendale  loess  is  the  finest  silt  mixed  with  fine 
sand.  This  is  a  valuable  soil  showing  much  lime,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid. 

The  observing  visitor  is  struck  by  the  evident  depth  of  the  soil  plane.  The  bases  of 
the  mountains  are  submerged,  the  valley  being  surrounded  by  mountain  tops.  Here 
plainly  were  frightful  canyons,  and  the  tide  of  silt  and  soil  particles  flowing  into  them 
for  untold  ages  has  built  up  the  level  until  the  plain  seems  at  flood.  Borings  have 
shown  this  to  be  true,  depths  100  feet,  500  feet  and  1300  feet  have  been  reached 
without  finding  bedrock. 

Now  this  is  the  farmer's  first  concern — good  soil,  deep  soil,  soil  that  will  not  wash 
away,  and  that  will  lend  itself  to  cereals  or  fruit,  alfalfa  or  oranges. 

As  usual  in  desert  soils  the  percent  of  nitrogen  is  low,  but  the  wise  farmer  knows 
that  this  will  be  supplied  by  right  methods  of  farming,  and  especially  by  growing  alfalfa. 
What  we  have  said  elsewhere  in  these  pages  about  the  fertility  of  arid  soils  can  be 
emphasized.  These  valley  lands  are  immensely  rich  because  their  chemical  salts — their 
plant  food — has  not  been  leached  out  by  ages  of  rainfall. 

There  can  be  here  no  soil  erosion — no  washing  away  of  farms  in  1  0,000  little  gullies, 
and  no  exhaustion  of  fertility  by  cropping,  since  the  waters  which  made  the  valley  still 
carry  into  it  the  elements  out  of  which  crops  are  grown,  and  these  are  distributed  every 
time  the  farmer  irrigates  the  land.  The  fact  is  well  known  and  explains  why  the  soils 
of  Egypt,  of  India  and  of  China,  cropped  for  ages,  are  not  worn  out,  nor  depreciated. 

41 


GOVERNMENT  IRR  I  G  AT  I  O  N  —  SO  U  TH  E  R  N  PACIFIC 


In  view  of  the  abandoned  farms  in  the  East,  and  the  greater  number  which  have  declined 
in  productive  power,  it  must  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  a  farmer  to  settle  here  and  feel 
not  only  that  his  farm  will  stay  by  him,  but  that  he  can  pass  it  on  to  his  children 
unimpaired  in  fertility. 

BUT    THE    CLIMATE ! 

Since  life  for  most  of  us  is  a  struggle,  if  we  are  to  farm  at  all  let  us  farm  where  the 
climate  will  help  and  not  hinder — where  it  will  constantly  aid  in  solving  the  problem 
of  production.  If  one  is  to  live  by  the  soil,  he  wants  the  best,  and  wants  it  in  the  best 
climate.  Comfort  is  of  consequence,  but  the  farmer  who  goes  to  Canada  for  cheap  land 
does  not  reckon  with  the  climate.  He  wants  land  and  a  good  deal  of  it.  The  farmer 
who  comes  into  the  Southwest  is  wiser  if  he  reckons  climate  at  its  cash  value.  He  knows 
that  it  is  not  first  a  question  of  comfort,  but  of  profit — of  production,  and  though  the 
summer  be  hot,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  satisfaction  in  a  bumper  crop  every  year.  Here 
one  does  not  say,  "This  is  good  growing  weather."  It  is  good  growing  weather  for  ten 
months  in  the  year,  and  then  while  stock  elsewhere  are  in  bank  barns,  here  they  are  in 
green  alfalfa  fields  in  midwinter.  This  is  climate.  The  man  who  grows  things  wants 
warmth,  sunshine,  equable  temperature  and  the  right  temperature  for  a  long  period.  He 
can  only  farm  in  a  disappointing  way  against  climate.  It  is  a  mistake  to  have  to  "buck" 
against  the  weather. 

Climate  has  its  relation  to  the  grower  as  well  as  to  the  crop,  and  if  Southern  Arizona 
is  hot  at  times,  it  is  a  land  of  health.  It  invites  to  life  in  the  open,  and  that  means  vigor. 
The  man  who  lives  in  the  outdoors  and  is  sensible  in  his  habits  and  his  diet,  has  little 
need  of  the  doctors.  These  dry  lands  are  the  lands  of  health.  Here  are  no  malarias, 
no  germ  diseases,  no  anemic  troubles,  no  "muggy"  and  depressing  days.  There  is  no 
"scale"  in  the  orchard,  no  fungus  growth.  Tree  and  plant,  man  and  animal  are  healthy, 
develop  rapidly  and  are  vigorous  and  fruitful.  This  more  than  balances  conditions  and 
one  hears  no  complaints  about  hot  summers  where  alfalfa  matures  a  crop  every  forty 
days,  and  oranges  store  up  sweetness  and  fineness  in  the  sunshine,  so  that  they  command 
a  premium  in  all  markets.  Salt  River  Valley  winters  are  full  of  sunshine,  and  the 
temperature  rarely  falls  below  thirty-six  degrees,  ranging  between  that  and  seventy-five 
degrees.  The  fields  are  green  and  alive  with  stock  which  has  come  in  from  the  northern 
ranges  and  is  fattening  on  alfalfa  pasture.  The  percentage  of  sunny  days  is  large,  the 
winter  sometimes  showing  less  than  a  week  of  days  when  the  sun  does  not  shine  brilliantly 
during  some  portion  of  the  day.  The  actual  number  of  rainy  days  is  small,  but  showers 
may  occur  at  almost  any  season.  The  nights  are  cool. , 

FARM    PRODUCTS 

This  valley  is  one  of  the  beautiful  and  productive  gardens  of  the  Southwest,  and  the 
basis  of  prosperity  is  the  substantial  one  of  stock  and  alfalfa.  The  fields  produce  from 
six  to  eight  tons  at  an  average  of  $  1  2  per  ton.  Its  feeding  value  is  not  less  than  $8  to  the 
grower.  The  demand  for  winter  pasture  is  extensive,  and  from  20,000  to  40,000  head 
of  cattle  come  in  here  every  season  to  be  fitted  for  market  on  the  alfalfa  fields.  Sheep, 
too,  are  driven  in  from  the  colder  ranges  by  the  hundred  thousand  and  are  kept  over 
"lambing  time."  Many  hogs  are  also  grown  on  alfalfa,  and  the  spectacle  of  droves  and 
herds  of  stock  in  lush  pastures  in  midwinter  is  a  hint  of  prosperity  which  the  dullest 
can  take. 

43 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN     PACIFIC 


.'  R R I--6HJA & ti 


i  C^IUMA  PROJECT 


Map    of    the    Yuma    Project,    showing    irrigable    land    in    shaded    sections. 


it  in  the  desert  I  6,000  acres  of  good  land,  with  a  good  independent  water  supply  and 
is  thirty  miles  west  of  Phoenix,  with  the  certainty  of  a  railroad  soon. 

There  will  be  the  development  of  great  electrical  power  below  the  great  dam,  and 
the  sale  of  this  will  reduce  the  cost  of  water  rights,  besides  developing  manufacturing. 
In  every  way  the  outlook  is  good,  and  the  settler  will  not  be  disappointed  who  comes 
here  with  means  enough  or  energy  enough  to  get  a  land  holding  of  his  own. 

The  Booklet  offered  by  the  Reclamation  Service  warrants  all  we  have  said  about  the 
region,  our  convictions  being  the  growth  of  much  independent  study  on  the  lands  them- 
selves at  different  times. 

Ex-President  Roosevelt  says  that  civilization  rests  at  the  bottom  on  the  wholesomeness, 
the  attractiveness  and  completeness,  as  well  as  the  prosperity  of  life  in  the  country,  and 
there  is  here  the  making  of  a  substantial  community  as  attractive,  as  varied  in  its  farm 
industries,  and  as  prosperous  as  can  be  found  in  any  state  in  the  Union.  The  community 
is  here,  growth  is  well  begun,  there  is  a  market  for  all  products,  there  is  going  on  the 
development  of  great  natural  resources,  and  there  will  be  great  advances  in  property 
values.  It  is  up  to  you  to  say  whether  you  will  share  in  these  conditions  and  profit  by 
the  growth  that  is  coming. 


The  Yuma  Project 
Tizona 


Ari 


THIS  well-known  town  of  Yuma  is  on  the  Sunset  Route  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
where  it  crosses  the  Colorado  River  and  the  California-Arizona  line.     It  is  familiar 
to  the  overland  traveler,  and  excites  his  interest  partly  because  of  its  picturesque 
location,   its   Indians,   seven  hundred   Yumas  have   now  put   aside   their  war  paint   and 
weapons   and   are  here   cultivating   the   arts   of   peace;    and   partly   because   he   wonders 
at  the  courage  which  undertakes  to  build  homes  and  a  town  in  the  midst  of  this  desert 
stretching  far  on  each  side  of  the  river. 

But  no  wise  man  judges  from  appearances.  No  intelligent  farmer  estimates  the  worth 
of  a  country  from  the  car  windows.  A  simple  statement  of  the  situation  here  will  show 
strong  grounds  for  confidence  in  the  future  of  the  region,  and  justify  the  courage  which 
has  struggled  here  to  wrest  farms  from  the  summer  floods  of  the  river  and  to  provide 
moisture  for  lands  which  the  river  made,  but  no  longer  overflows. 

THE  LOCATION 

Yuma  is  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Colorado  River,  about  eighty  miles  above  its 
mouth  and  nine  miles  from  the  international  boundary  line  between  Mexico  and  the 
United  States.  It  is  the  chief  point  in  a  large  district,  and  headquarters  for  the  mining 
camps  of  the  country,  some  of  which  have  been  constant  producers  for  many  years. 

There  is  an  important  Indian  school  here,  transformed  from  Fort  Yuma  to  present 
nobler  purposes. 

It  is  the  center  of  an  agricultural  district  embracing  considerable  territory  and  so 
important  is  the  soil  area  and  the  soil  quality  as  to  secure  the  attention  of  the  Reclamation 

47 


GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN     PACIFIC 


. 


Service  and  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  in  building  a  dam  in  the  turbulent  river,  carry- 
ing a  huge  inverted  syphon  under  the  river  and  constructing  canals  and  levees  to  water 
and  protect  the  lands. 

The  town  is  distant  from  Los  Angeles  250  miles;  is  still  farther  by  rail  from  San 
Diego;  Tucson  is  250  miles  to  the  southeast  and  Phoenix  200  miles  eastward.  There 
is  thus  room  for  a  city  of  commercial  importance,  and  when  we  have  pointed  out  the 
extent  of  its  tributary  lands,  the  character  of  its  soil  and  possibilities  which  its  climate 
offers  for  the  production  of  high-class  crops,  we  will  have  indicated  the  reasons  for  belief 
in  Yuma's  future  growth  in  population  and  in  commercial  influence. 

THE  RIVER  AND  THE  SOIL 

The  Colorado  is  the  great  factor  here.  It  is  the  Nile  of  this  region,  and  will  make 
it  as  the  historic  Nile  made  Egypt.  It  has  made  the  land,  and  will  forever  fertilize  it. 
Along  these  lower  courses  of  the  great  stream  has  been  formed  a  narrow  strip  of  fertile 
soil  in  the  midst  of  desert  conditions,  and  as  the  annual  summer  overflow  is  rich  in 
fertilizing  sediments,  it  has  kept  up  a  sort  of  a  perpetual  "top  dressing"  until  now.  The 
result  is  a  body  of  land  equal  in  fertility  to  that  of  Egypt,  but  of  less  extent,  in  a 
climate  like  Egypt's. 

Irrigation  now  takes  the  place  of  the  summer  overflow,  but  the  fertilizing  elements  held 
in  suspension  by  the  stream  are  carried  in  the  water  of  the  canals  and  left  upon  the  land. 
The  problem  indeed  of  the  engineers  has  been  to  prevent  the  Colorado  silt  from  choking 
the  canals  and  covering  the  young  crops  as  with  a  blanket,  but  this  has  been  solved  by 
"settling  basins,"  while  it  is  certain  that  enough  remains  in  the  irrigating  waters  to  main- 
tain the  productiveness  of  the  land  unimpaired  under  the  most  severe  cropping.  "It  is 
believed,"  says  an  early  report  of  one  of  the  engineers,  now  the  Director  of  the  Reclama- 
tion Service,  "it  is  believed  that  the  plant  food  carried  by  the  silt  in  solution  in  the  river 
water  will  perpetually  fertilize  the  land."  This  is  a  modest  statement,  and  well  within 
the  truth.  Investigation  by  the  University  of  Arizona  demonstrated  that  four  average 
acre  feet  of  Colorado  River  water  at  Yuma  carried  sediment  enough  to  make  a  layer  of 
soil  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  thick.  On  basing  their  computation  upon  the  use  of 
three  acre  feet  of  this  water  they  found  that  the  fertilizing  value  of  this  material,  if  bought 
in  the  market,  would  be  about  $9.00  per  acre.  Where  such  conditions  prevail  cultiva- 
tion can  never  impoverish,  but  actually  enriches  the  soil.  "The  knowledge,"  Professor 
R.  H.  Forbes  of  the  University,  says,  "is  as  old  as  human  history,  that  river  irrigating 
sediments  increase  the  productiveness  of  the  land,"  and  they  found  4.8  pounds  of  nitrogen 
in  one  acre  foot  of  water  from  the  Colorado,  and  28. 1  pounds  from  the  Gila,  which 
flows  into  the  Colorado  just  below  Yuma.  So  they  found  in  Egypt  long  ago  that  the 
red  Nile  floods  from  Abyssinia  were  more  valuable  than  those  from  other  watersheds 
tributary  to  that  river. 

Now  these  facts  are  bound  to  arrest  attention,  and  when  an  intelligent  farming  com- 
munity is  established  here,  this  will  become  one  of  the  most  productive  regions  of  the 
world. 

If  you  have  seen  abandoned  farms  in  New  England;  if  you  have  seen  farms  in  North 
Carolina  wasting  away  by  surface  soil  erosion  or  washing,  year  after  year;  or  if  you  have 
some  personal  experiences  of  the  struggle  with  poor  soils,  where  the  loss  by  cropping 
could  never  quite  be  restored  by  manuring,  then  you  ought  to  look  with  longing  upon  soils 
that  will  never  wear  out  or  wash  away. 

49 


GOVERNMENT    IRR  I  G  ATI  O  N  —  SO  UTH  E  R  N     PACIFIC 


-_ 
THE   IRRIGATION   SYSTEM 

This  is  one  of  the  largest  undertaken  by  the  Service.  It  includes  a  dam  a  mile  long, 
seventy-five  miles  of  levees,  about  seventy  miles  of  main  canals,  a  network  of  additional 
distributing  ditches  and  a  syphon  or  tunnel  under  the  Colorado  River.  There  is  no  danger 
of  a  water  famine.  In  the  present  state  the  lowest  recorded  flow  of  the  river  is  sufficient 
to  irrigate  an  area  several  times  larger  than  that  embraced  in  the  district  around  Yuma. 
Nor  will  there  be  damage  from  floods.  This  is  provided  against  in  two  ways:  first,  by  a 
long  line  of  embankments.  The  tops  of  these  levees,  four  feet  above  the  highest  known 
floods,  have  dimensions  which  sixty  years  of  experience  on  the  Mississippi  have  shown 
to  be  the  best.  Second,  as  the  work  advances  immense  storage  reservoirs  will  be  added 
along  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Colorado  and  its  tributaries.  These  will  conserve  the  flood 
discharge  and  allow  the  water  to  flow  at  a  more  uniform  rate  through  the  year.  In  other 
words,  the  Colorado  will  be  regulated.  It  will  be  put  into  harness. 

DRAINAGE   CHANNELS 
% 

These  are  vastly  important.  The  character  of  the  lands  here  lends  assistance  to  the 
engineer,  being  in  general  a  great  .bed  of  sand  overlain  and  interstratified  with  silt 
deposited  by  the  river.  This  sandy  subsoil  far  below  the  surface  makes  the  drainage 
of  the  soil  itself  naturally  good.  But  in  addition  drainage  channels  are  a  feature,  these 
being  designed  chiefly  to  take  care  of  any  seepage  water  from  the  river  as  well  as  the 
surplus  waters  of  irrigation.  The  drainage  system  will  discharge  by  gravity  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  system  during  most  of  the  year.  These  slight  explanations  are  in  order  simply 
to  assure  the  settler  that  the  engineers  have  covered  every  point,  and  that  in  actual  use  the 
farmer  will  find  an  efficient  and  workable  system,  giving  him  no  trouble  for  want  of 
water,  or  from  surplus  water.  Everything  is  done  in  the  best  manner,  and  with  a  view 
to  permanence.  This  is  a  point  which  should  not  be  lost  sight  of.  The  work  is  well  done, 
done  skilfully,  carefully  and  strongly,  not  slighted  to  save  expense,  not  hurried  to  get 
through  in  a  given  time.  The  system  will  not  "go  back"  on  the  settler. 

THE    IRRIGABLE    LANDS 

These  include  about  1  7,000  acres  in  the  Yuma  Indian  Reservation  in  California, 
20,000  acres  in  the  Gila  Valley  and  53,000  acres  in  the  lower  Yuma  Valley,  Arizona. 
In  the  latter,  settlement  has  been  long  established,  and  about  fourteen  per  cent  of  the  irri- 
gable land  is  supplied  with  water  by  temporary  works.  There  is  here  a  thrifty  population 
and  good  schools  and  churches.  Patented  lands  in  the  valley  are  rated  at  from  $40.00  to 
$200.00  an  acre. 

Bottom  lands  in  Arizona  are  mostly  in  private  ownership.  A  few  thousand  acres  are 
subject  to  partial  relinquishment,  when  the  farm  unit  is  finally  fixed,  but  until  then  there  is 
no  land  for  entry  on  the  Arizona  side.  Some  of  this  private  land  is  for  sale  at  $30.000 
and  upwards. 

The  lands  of  the  Indian  Reservation  in  part  have  been  thrown  open  to  white  settlers 
under  the  terms  of  the  Homestead  Law  as  modified  by  the  Reclamation  list.  These 
Reservation  lands  are  charged  with  cost  of  water  and  maintenance,  and  in  addition  a 
small  sum  per  acre  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians.  This  extra  charge  is  fully  compensated 
for  by  the  character  of  the  lands  and  their  location. 

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GOVERNMENT    IRR  I  G  ATI  O  N  —  SO  UTH  E  R  N    PACIFIC 


The  rush  for  these  lands  at  the  opening  in  March,  1910,  showed  the  interest  of  a 
wide  public.  Of  the  1 74  farms,  approximately  forty  acres  each,  there  were  about 
ten  applicants  for  each  farm.  Successive  units  to  be  opened  as  the  work  proceeds  are 
likely  to  prove  as  attractive  as  the  first  to  homeseekers. 

The  Mesa  lands  include  about  40,000  acres  lying  about  seventy  feet  above  the  valley. 
These  lands  at  present  are  withdrawn  from  entry,  and  will  not  receive  water  for  a  year 
or  more.  It  will  finally  be  lifted  by  pumps,  but  at  no  cost  to  the  settler.  When  irrigated, 
the  Mesa  or  upland  portion  of  the  project  will  be  ideal  for  all  kinds  of  delicate  plant  life, 
including  citrus  fruits,  for  it  is  practically  frostless.  More  than  eighty  acres  on  these 
table  lands  are  now  under  cultivation,  and  the  oranges  are  of  the  finest. 

FARM    PRODUCTS 

Alfalfa  is  the  "stand-by,"  and  is  likely  to  be.  This  fine  forage  crop  gives  here  a 
satisfactory  cutting  in  about  three  months  after  sowing  the  seed.  Seven  or  eight  times 
a  year  it  can  be  harvested,  and  a  total  of  ten  tons  to  the  acre  is  not  wholly  exceptional. 
It  is  only  a  matter  of  proper  attention  and  good  farming.  As  this  hay  has  averaged 
$13.00  per  ton  in  the  local  market  for  the  last  six  years,  it  will  be  seen  to  be  a 
profitable  crop.  This  will  not  continue  as  the  valley  settles  up,  but  will  never  be  below 
its  feeding  value,  which  here  is  from  $8.00  to  $10.00  per  ton  in  the  stack. 

Wheat  yields  from  twenty  to  forty  bushels,  and  barley  from  thirty  to  fifty  bushels. 
These  crops  may  be  followed  by  corn,  which  can  be  planted  in  July,  and  is  mature  by  the 
first  of  November — often  after  mid-October. 

The  wheat  and  barley  sown  in  the  fall  is  often  pastured  in  the  winter  and  harvested 
early  in  May.  Alfalfa  furnishes  two  cuttings,  then  a  crop  of  seed,  followed  by  three  or 
four  more  crops  of  hay.  Milo  maize  is  grown,  yielding  about  four  tons  of  grain.  Kaffir 
corn  produces  abundantly. 

All  this  suggests  the  dairy  and  the  growth  of  live  stock,  hogs  grown  on  alfalfa  and 
skimmed  milk,  and  fattened  on  corn  or  barley,  and  range  cattle  bought  and  fattened  on 
the  farm.  The  market  for  such  farm  products  is  right  at  home,  and  there  need  be  no 
trouble  in  disposing  of  all  that  can  be  produced. 

Slight  shelter  is  needed;  green  feed  lasts  all  the  year  and  mud  is  almost  unknown. 
Here  beyond  doubt  Egyptian  cotton  will  be  profitably  grown,  the  tests  being  wholly 
satisfactory  in  this  region.  Here  too  will  be  extensive  groves  of  oranges  and  lemons,  of 
figs,  also,  and  orchards  of  peach,  pear  and  apricot.  Here  will  be  fields  of  asparagus  and 
celery;  berries  will  do  well  on  the  Mesa  lands,  and  in  the  bottom  lands  it  is  certain  that 
the  date  palm  will  flourish.  The  Government's  date  gardens  have  made  this  clear, 
experiments  having  been  conducted  at  various  places  for  many  years.  The  outcome  of  this 
will  be  a  region  of  farms  and  orchards,  of  date  plantations  and  cotton  fields,  of  general 
farming  and  intensive  farming,  of  staple  crops  and  high  priced  crops,  transforming  a 
wide  area  and  creating  beauty  where  now  is  barrenness. 

THE    CLIMATE 

What  we  have  said  about  the  Salt  River  Valley  is  true  of  the  Yuma  Valley.  For 
four  months  it  is  hot.  A  light  breeze  comes  up  the  river  daily  from  the  Gulf  which 
mitigates  the  heat.  That  the  air  is  dry;  that  there  are  no  "muggy  days";  that  evapora- 
tion is  rapid,  cooling  the  surface  of  the  body,  makes  it  possible  to  work  in  the  fields 

53 


GOVERNMENT      I  RRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN      PACIFIC 


without   much  discomfort.      There   are  no   sunstrokes,   no  prostrations,   no   "limp"   con- 
ditions in  which  one  feels  parboiled  and  his  clothes  stick  to  him  and  he  swelters, 
is  made  impossible  by  the  extreme  dryness  of  the  air. 

The  body  of  the  year  is  pleasant,  and  the  winters  are  almost  perfection.  There  is  a 
little  frost  at  times  in  the  lowlands,  but  ice  and  snow  are  unknown,  and  as  the  rainfall 
does  not  average  three  inches  in  the  year,  mud  is  not  lying  around. 

When  tree  planting,  the  growth  of  orchards  and  the  expansion  of  green  fields  have 
changed  the  face  of  the  country,  and  river  banks  have  become  avenues  and  driveways 
and  all  the  face  of  the  country  is  changed  by  cultivation,  the  region  will  then  be  widely 
known  for  its  superb  winter  climate  and  will  have  its  contingent  of  healthseekers  as  well 
as  homeseekers,  and  this  in  turn  will  produce  tourist  hotels  and  help  the  growth  of  the 
town.  We  are  not  speculating;  we  are  not  "trading  in  futures";  the  work  has  begun, 
and  with  a  magnificent  irrigation  system,  the  broad  foundation  of  an  intense  economic 
life  has  been  laid,  and  all  the  higher  forms  of  industrial  and  social  development  are  sure 
to  follow  in  due  time. 

THE   WORK    OF    TIME 

There  is  much  to  be  done  yet.  The  great  irrigation  system  is  not  yet  completed;  work 
is  now  going  on  in  pushing  the  great  steel  syphon  under  the  river  bed,  and  water  is  yet  to 
be  delivered,  lands  to  be  selected,  cleared  and  leveled,  and  a  pumping  plant  installed  to 
deliver  water  on  the  uplands;  but  as  soon  as  the  full  opening  of  the  project  is  reached  the 
work  of  development  will  be  in  many  hands,  and  will  go  on  rapidly.  Meantime  the  man 
who  is  looking  westward  for  a  permanent  home  will  find  it  to  his  advantage  to  be  familiar 
with  all  the  details  of  the  situation,  and  if  he  can  be  on  the  ground  he  will  command 
opportunities  that  will  lead  on  to  fortune. 


Imperial  Valley 
California 

THE  Colorado  Desert  will  be  remembered  by  all  who  have  come  into  California  by 
the  Sunset  Route  of  the  Southern  Pacific.     One  of  the  most  desolate  spots  on  the 
globe  is  the   gateway  to  the  bloom  and  the  beauty  of  Southern  California,   yet 
perhaps  the  greatest  single  example  of  the  triumph  of  irrigation  in  our  day  is  seen  in  this 
forbidding  desert. 

Imperial  Valley  is  the  delta  of  the  Colorado  River  in  the  extreme  southeastern  part 
of  the  state,  and  extending  over  the  border  into  Mexico.  Here,  on  both  sides  of  the 
line  are  more  than  a  million  acres  that  probably  once  formed  the  bed  of  the  ocean,  an 
extension  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Gulf  of  California.  This  has  been  filled  up  by  the 
vast  deposits  of  the  yellow  river,  the  head  of  the  gulf  being  in  the  neighborhood  of  Yuma 
sixty  miles  in  an  air-line  from  where  it  is  now.  It  was  a  daring  private  enterprise  whicl 
undertook  to  put  water  on  this  land,  and  would  have  been  an  ideal  task  for  the  Govern- 
ment itself.  Engineers  had  long  realized  that  water  only  was  needed  to  convert  this 


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GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTHERN     PACIFIC 


Cotton    in    the    Imperial  Valley,    a    new    crop    that    has    demonstrated    its    utility. 


arid  desert  valley  into  a  productive  agricultural  area,  but  it  was  not  until  January  1st, 
1902,  that  surveyors  were  on  the  ground  mapping  out  a  system  of  irrigation.  One  year 
later  2,000  settlers  had  arrived.  By  January  1st,  1904,  70,000  acres  were  in  cultiva- 
tion ;  the  settlers  had  increased  to  nearly  1  0,000,  the  railroad,  the  telegraph  and  telephone 
had  come  in;  many  homes  were  building,  several  towns  starting,  a  National  Bank  was 
doing  business,  and  stores  were  serving  the  new  community.  It  reads  like  a  tale  from 
the  Arabian  Nights,  but  it  is  absolutely  true. 

A   GREAT  PRODUCTIVE  AREA 

Splendid  as  is  the  truth  of  today,  it  is  pale  compared  with  the  promise  of  tomorrow. 
A  great  river  has  been  harnessed  and  brought  under  control  and  this  makes  all  the  differ- 
ence between  hopeless  aridity  and  human  homes  and  farms,  supporting  an  independent 
population.  Here  are  now  20,000  people  and  six  towns;  275,000  acres  are  under  culti- 
vation, and  the  irrigable  area  is  700,000  acres.  Some  of  this  great  area  cannot  be 
served  by  the  present  system,  but  will  be  reached  by  a  high  line  canal  brought  down 
from  the  Laguna  Dam.  This  is  contemplated,  and  will  be  constructed  when  the  demand 
for  it  becomes  urgent.  Meantime  with  water  flowing  in  1 ,000  miles  of  canals  and 
laterals;  with  settlements  expanding  from  the  centers  and  new  districts  forming;  with  a 
great  diversity  of  crops  under  cultivation  and  scarcely  any  product  of  California  soils 
which  will  not  do  well  here;  with  an  ample  water  supply  for  a  much  larger  area  than 
is  now  served  by  the  ditches,  it  is  easily  seen  that  the  region  is  destined  to  support  a 
large  population,  and  the  desert,  if  not  becoming  a  garden  has  been  converted  into 
valuable  farms.  In  1 906,  with  but  1  30,000  acres  in  cultivation,  the  returns  from  cattle 
and  hogs  were  $1,185,000  and  from  creamery  products  $273,000;  barley  $337,000 
and  cantaloupes  $95,000,  and  the  desert  surface  had  then  hardly  been  scratched. 
Today  the  cultivated  area  has  more  than  doubled;  crops  have  increased  in  diversity  and 
in  quality,  the  returns  per  acre  are  more,  and  the  wealth  of  the  whole  valley  is  steadily 
augmenting.  Many  began  with  little  capital,  and  are  now  independent.  The  attractive 
farm  homes,  the  ambitious  new  towns  growing  in  population  and  increasing  in  business, 
the  long  lines  of  loaded  cars  arrd  evidences  of  industrial  activity  all  owe  their  existence  to 
the  waters  of  the  Colorado.  Irrigation  does  transform  the  desert. 

There  are  now  in  that  wonderful  valley  3947  farms  covering  731,520  assessed 
acres,  and  the  total  assessed  valuation  of  the  valley  is  $7,161,382.  The  value  of  the 
products  produced  this  year  exceeds  $2,000,000,  and  its  development  has  but  just 
begun.  It  is  wonderfully  productive  and  with  its  abundant  water  supply  yields  crops 
the  year  around.  The  growing  season  never  ends. 

PRODUCTS    OF    THE    VALLEY 

The  first  uses  of  the  land  are  generally  to  grow  barley.  The  land  long  unstirred 
responds  more  rapidly  to  higher  priced  crops  after  a  year  or  two  of  cultivation.  Alfalfa 
quickly  follows  barley,  and  the  tremendous  growth  of  this  forage  plant  makes  stock 
raising  a  prominent  industry.  Eight  tons  to  the  acre  is  called  a  low  estimate  for  alfalfa, 
and  this  brings  usually  $10.00  per  ton  when  shipped  out  of  the  valley. 

Hogs  are  fed  on  barley  and  alfalfa  and  3,000  have  been  kept  on  a  single  farm  of 
320  acres,  the  bulk  of  the  acreage  being  in  alfalfa.  Where  the  latter  grows  all  the  year 
as  here,  cattle  thrive  and  the  dairy  is  profitable.  Many  head  of  fine  stock  have  been 
brought  into  the  valley,  and  creameries  have  multiplied. 

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GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTHERN      PACIFIC 


Cotton  has  been  grown  successfully,  and  a  carload  recently  sliipped  to  Oakland  Cotton 
Mills  was  pronounced  of  excellent  quality.  It  is  estimated  that  20,000  acres  will  be 
planted  this  year,  and  a  larger  acreage  is  offered.  Asparagus  has  proved  profitable  and 
will  become  a  large  industry.  Oranges  are  being  tried,  and  have  matured  fruit  of  good 
color  and  flavor,  but  it  is  too  soon  to  determine  the  adaptation  of  soil  and  climate  to  this 
exacting  fruit.  But  the  orange  tree  will  be  widely  planted  in  dooryards,  if  not  grown 
for  commercial  uses. 

Fig  trees  bear  readily  and  early,  and  grapes  are  being  shipped  to  New  York  by  the 
carload.  Cantaloupes  can  be  put  on  the  market  by  the  first  of  June  and  are  of  fine 
quality. 

The  date  palm  may  become  a  large  feature  in  the  landscape  here,  and  be  extensively 
grown.  The  Government  date  garden  is  at  Mecca  in  the  Colorado  Desert,  and  the 
experimental  planting  is  full  of  promise.  Deciduous  fruits  of  several  kinds  will  do  well, 
and  the  early  bearing  and  vigor  of  fruit  trees  is  phenomenal.  Poultry  flourish  with  little 
care,  and  great  herds  of  turkeys  range  the  fields  and  to  all  intents  and  purposes  care  for 
themselves. 

The  eucalyptus  will  furnish  fuel  and  material  for  farm  implements  and  for  furniture 
and  building.  Several  varieties  grow  well  and  with  great  rapidity.  In  the  short  space 
of  five  years  or  less  the  farm  can  have  a  self-renewing  wood  lot  and  the  barns,  corrals 
and  roads  can  be  well  shaded.  Cottonwood  springs  up  from  slips  as  do  willows.  The 
pepper  tree  thrives  and  a  little  attention  to  ornamental  planting  will  make  this  great 
valley  a  place  to  delight  the  eye. 

This  is  a  prominent  feature  of  the  situation,  the  self-supplying  possibilities  jot  the  region. 
The  community  is  independent,  growing  all  that  it  consumes  save  a  few  articles,  as 
tea,  coffee  and  sugar. 

THE    CLIMATIC    SIDE 

It  is  the  usual  story  of  the  desert — great  heat  for  a  part  of  the  year — but  great  dryness 
of  the  air  and  rapid  evaporation  reducing  the  sensible  temperature  so  that  work  in  the 
fields  goes  on  at  all  times.  That  the  heat  of  summer  will  be  modified  by  green  fields 
and  trees  is  certain.  The  traditional  heat  of  the  desert  is  due  in  part  to  the  absence  of 
vegetation.  Winds  are  hot  blowing  over  hot  sands,  but  are  cooled  as  they  blow  over 
miles  of  grain  and  hay  fields,  the  heat  of  the  sun  being  taken  up  by  the  foliage  of 
plants  and  trees. 

There  is  little  rainfall,  and  the  almost  rainless  winters  are  not  cold,  so  that  vegetation 
is  but  little  affected  and  growth  goes  on  all  the  year. 

It  is  a  land  of  health.  This  is  the  history  of  arid  regions.  Life  is  full  of  sunshine 
and  this  is  antiseptic.  We  learn  to  live  out  of  doors  and  to  sleep  practically  in  the 
open. 

This  is  one  of  the  blessings  of  irrigation.  It  makes  the  desert  productive  and  habitable, 
and  that  in  turn  offers  the  boon  of  health  to  thousands. 

PUBLIC  LAND  AND  LAND  VALUES 

The  eagerness  with  which  men  rushed  into  the  valley  and  seized  the  opportunity  to 
get  a  homestead  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  for  several  years  no  vacant  public  land  has  been 
available.  There  will  be  lands  open  to  entry  when  water  is  available  for  new  districts, 

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GOVERNMENT      IRRIGATION  — SOUTH  ERN     PACIFIC 


from  higher  sources  up  the  river,  and  as  the  present  canal  system  is  extended 
and  new  districts  are  formed.  But  at  present  land  must  be  bought  from  private  owners 
at  market  prices.  It  is  difficult  to  say  what  these  are.  Prices  change  rapidly.  Some 
rough  lands  can  be  bought  on  the  rim  of  the  settlements,  and  some  relinquishments  can 
be  bought,  but  the  man  who  gets  Imperial  Valley  land  today  at  a  bargain  must  be  on 
the  ground  and  wide-awake. 

The  towns  are  growing;  schools  are  provided  and  churches;  the  opera  house  is  here 
and  cold  storage.  There  are  substantial  hotels  and  banking  houses;  the  railroad  that 
was  a  branch  having  its  terminus  in  the  valley  has  pushed  on  to  Yuma  and  now  forms 
a  loop  from  and  to  the  main  line;  population  is  still  increasing  and  this  adds  to  property 
values.  The  water  supply  is  ample,  is  safeguarded  by  legally  acquired  right  and  by 
substantial  protection  of  the  river  banks,  and  the  work  of  the  irrigator  is  secure  from 
abuse  from  excessive  use  of  water  by  the  great  drainage  channels  on  two  sides  of  the 
valley.  The  soil  shows  no  development  of  alkali;  drainage  into  the  old  flood  channels  is 
already  established,  and  those  who  know  this  valley  best  believe  that  the  whole  situation 
is  promising,  and  that  the  valley  has  a  great  future.  A  new  county  has  been  organized, 
and  all  the  county  affairs  are  transacted  at  El  Centre  in  the  heart  of  the  valley.  In  every 
way  the  foundations  have  been  substantially  laid  for  future  prosperity,  and  the  desert  is 
already  blossoming  with  the  homes  of  men. 

We  have  dwelt  upon  but  a  few  features,  and  this  simply  to  show  what  has  been  done 
inside  of  ten  years.  The  actual  results  answer  all  the  serious  questions  which  may  be 
asked  about  desert  lands  and  desert  climate  and  the  value  of  irrigation.  While  others 
have  been  debating  it,  20,000  people  have  come  in  here,  taken  up  the  land,  turned  on  the 
water,  and  found  in  the  fertile  soil  and  the  equable  climate  all  the  elements  of  a  first-class 
security.  Today  property  is  changing  hands  as  in  older  communities,  but  at  prices  which 
represent  great  profits  over  the  original  investment,  while  those  who  pay  from  $  1 00  to 
$200  an  acre  are  confident  that  the  land  will  speedily  pay  for  itself. 

THE   BEST  SIDE   OF  AMERICA 

The  worth  of  the  western  half  of  the  continent  has  slowly  made  its  way  into  con- 
viction. There  were  some  costly  doubts  where  the  region  of  assured  rainfall  ceased  and 
the  arid  lands  began,  and  some  costly  lessons  were  learned  in  the  dear  school  of 
experience.  Three  times  large  regions  were  occupied  and  abandoned,  settlers  fleeing  from 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  in  disappointment.  But  then  the  secret  of  dry  farming  had  not 
been  learned;  the  effect  of  tree  planting  had  not  been  proved,  and  the  age  of  irrigation 
had  not  come.  Today  in  the  most  pronounced  regions  of  drought  farther  west  per- 
manent settlements  are  being  made,  because  a  scientific  agriculture  has  come  in.  And  it 
is  the  worth  of  and  land  now ;  it  is  the  producing  capacity  of  lands  once  called 
worthless,  but  which  had  been  storing  fertility  under  rainless  skies;  it  is  the  earning 
power  of  this  land  under  irrigation;  it  is  the  advantage  of  having  moisture  at  command, 
to  put  it  where  your  crops  will  need  it  and  when  they  need  it;  it  is  the  enlarged  and 
assured  crops,  the  security  from  rains  in  the  harvest  time,  from  storms  that  beat  down 
crops  and  ruin  orchards,  and  from  floods  that  elsewhere  drown  the  fields  and  wash 
away  the  soil,  the  absence  of  cold  that  here  leaves  winter  for  productive  labor,  and 
turns  stock  out  to  board  themselves  in  green  pastures;  it  is  the  development  of  a  great 
region  rich  in  natural  resources,  a  region  that  is  the  best  side  of  the  continent,  but  the  last 
to  be  settled  because  the  historic  movement  has  been  always  westward;  it  is  all  this  that 

61 


GOVERNMENT    IR  R  I  G  AT  I  O  N  —  SO  U  T  H  E  R  N     PACIFIC 


IMPERIAL  YAUEY 

Showing  Irrigable  Lands 
CALIFORNIA 


GULF      OF 
C  A  L  I  F  O  R  N  I  A 


is  now  drawing  the  attention  of  the  world  to, the  vast  work  of  the  Government  in  reclaim- 
ing dry  lands  to  human  uses,  and  calling  settlers  from  every  section  of  the  East  to  till  the 
irrigable  valleys  of  the  West. 

And  we  have  written  these  pages  because  the  situation  and  advantages  are  not  fully 
understood;  because  the  superior  conditions  on  the  Pacific  Coast  are  not  fully  under- 
stood and  because  the  larger  features  of  the  work  of  the  Reclamation  Service  are  not 
apprehended,  and  the  lands  for  which  the  Government  is  providing  water  have  not  been 
given  their  true  setting  climatically  and  geographically,  nor  the  promise  of  prosperity  and 
of  economic  greatness  in  the  communities  to  be  established  on  these  irrigated  lands  fairly 
presented  for  the  consideration  of  the  homeseeker.  We  have  written  for  the  farmer,  for 
he  is  the  one  necessary  man,  and  he  will  not  be  slow  to  take  advantage  of  the  situation 
created  for  him  when  he  understands  that  the  object  is  not  only  to  put  "the  landless  man 
on  the  manless  land,"  but  in  numbers  sufficient  on  each  project  to  make  an  independent 
community ;  that  the  land  is  ample  security  for  the  investment  he  is  asked  to  make,  and  the 
conditions  such  that  crop  failures  will  be  almost  unknown;  that  the  Government  means  a 
square  deal  for  the  plain  American  citizen,  and  that  a  large  controlling  motiVe  here  is  to 
create  "equality  of  opportunity"  and  to  enable  men  to  establish  homes  who  might  other- 
wise be  unable  to  employ  their  energies  for  the  best  good  of  their  families  and  the 
commonwealth. 

It  only  remains  to  ask  those  who  are  looking  to  some  one  of  these  Government  projects 
with  a  view  to  settlement,  to  study  the  statement  which  the  Reclamation  Service  has 
prepared,  and  become  familiar  with  details  which  we  could  not  well  duplicate  here. 


Any  representative  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Traffic  Department  noted 
below  will  be  pleased,  on  application,  to  furnish  further  information 
about  California,  including  railway  rates  and  service: 

E.  O.  McCormick,  Vice-President San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Chas.  S.  Fee,  Passenger  Traffic  Manager : San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Jas.  Horsburgh,  Jr.,  General  Passenger  Agent San  Francisco,  Cal. 

R    A.  Donaldson,  Assistant  General  Passenger  Agent San  Francisco.  Cal. 

H.  B.  Judah,  Assistant  General  Passenger  Agent San  Francisco,  Cal. 

F.  E.  Batturs,  Assistant  General  Passenger  Agent San  Francisco,  Cal. 

T.  A.  Graham,  Assistant  General  Passenger  Agent,  600  South  Spring  St Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

R.   S.   Stubbs,   Assistant  General   Passenger  Agent Tucson,  Ariz. 

Wm.  McMurray,  General  Passenger  Agent,  Oregon  Lines Portland,  Ore. 

J.  M.  Scott,  Assistant  General  Passenger  Agent,  Oregon  Lines Portland,  Ore. 

D.  E.  Burley,  General  Passenger  Agent,  Lines  East  of  Sparks Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

D.  S.  Spencer,  Assistant  General  Passenger  Agent,  Lines  East  of  Sparks Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

T.  J.  Anderson,  General  Passenger  Agent,  G.  H.  &  S.  A.  Ry Houston,  Texas 

Jos.  Hellen,  General  Passenger  Agent,  T.  &  N.  O.  R.  R Houston,  Texas 

J.  H.  R.  Parsons,  General  Passenger  Agent,  M.  L.  &  T.  R.  R.  &  S.  S.  Co New  Orleans,  La. 

R.  S.  Stubbs,  General  Passenger  Agent,  Arizona  Eastern Tucson,  Ariz. 

H.  Lawton,  General  Passenger  Agent,  Sonora  Ry.,  and  Southern  Pacificof  Mexico Guaymas,  Mex. 

Geo.  F.  Jackson,  Ass't.  Gen   Pass.  Agent,  Sonora  Ry.,  and  Southern  Pacific  of  Mexico.  .  .  .Guaymas,  Mex. 

R.  B.  Miller,  Traffic  Manager,  O.  &  W    R   R Portland,  Ore. 

W.  D.  Skinner,  General  Freight  and  Passenger  Agent,  O.  &  W.  R.  R Seattle,  Wash. 

Astoria,  Ore.— G.  W.  ROBERTS,  Agent,  O.  R.  &  N.  Co 

Atlanta,  Ga. — A.  J.  DUTCHER,  General  Agent 121  Peachtree  Street 

Baltimore,  Md.— W.  B.  JOHNSON,  Agent Piper  Building 

Boston,  Mass. — J.  H.  GLYNN,  New  England  Agent 170  Washington  Street 

Butte,  Mont.— F.  D.  WILSON,  D.  P.  &  F  Agent,  O.  R.  &  N.  Co 105  N.  Main  Street 

Chicago,  111., — W.  G.  NEIMYER,  General  Agent 120  Jackson  Boulevard 

Cincinnati,  Ohio — W   H.  CONNOR.  General  Agent 53  East  Fourth  Street 

Denver,  Colo. — W.  K.  MCALLISTER,  General  Agent ' 313  Railway  Exchange  Building 

Des  Moines,  Iowa — J.  W.  TURTLE,  Traveling  Passenger  Agent 313  West  Fifth  Street 

Detroit,  Mich. — J.  C.  FERGUSON,  General  Agent 11  Fort  Street 

El  Paso,  Texas— W.  C.  MCCORMICK,  General  Agent,  G.  H.  &  S.  A.  Ry 

Fresno,  Cal.— E.  W.  CLAPP,  District  Passenger  and  Freight  Agent 1013  J  Street 

Kansas  City,  Mo.— H.  G.  KAILL,  A.  G.  P.  A 901  Walnut  Street 

Lewiston,  Idaho— C.  W.  MOUNT,  D.  F.  &  P.  A  ,  O.  R.  &  N.,  and  O.  &  W 

Los  Angeles,  Cal.— N.  R.  MARTIN,  District  Passenger  Agent 600  South  Spring  Street 

Mexico  City,  Mex.— W.  E.  BARNES,  General  Agent Ave.  5  de  Mayo  6B 

Minneapolis,  Minn.— H.  F.  CARTER,  District  Passenger  Agent 21  S.  Third  Street 

New  York,  N.  Y.— L.  H.  NUTTING,  General  Eastern  Passenger  Agent 1,  366  &  1158  Broadway 

Oakland,  Cal. — C.  M.  BURKHALTER,  Dist.  Pass.  &  Freight  Agent Broadway  and  13th  Street 

Ogden,  Utah — E.  A.  SHEWE,  City  Agent 2514  Washington  Street 

Olympia,  Wash. — J.  C.  PERCIVAL,  Agent Percivals  Dock 

Philadelphia,  Pa.— R.  J.  Smith,  Agent 632  Chestnut  Street 

Pittsburg,  Pa. — G.  G.  HERRING,  General  Agent 539  Smithfield  Street 

Portland,  Ore. — C.  W.  STINGER,  City  Ticket  Agent Third  and  Washington  Streets 

Reno,  Nev. — J.  F.  HIXSON,  District  Passenger  and  Freight  Agent Odd  Fellows'  Building 

Sacramento,  Cal. — JOHN  C.  STONE,  District  Passenger  and  Freight  Agent 801  K  Street 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah— D.  R.  GRAY,  District  Passenger  and  Freight  Agent 156  Main  Street 

San  Diego,  Cal. — J.  R.  DOWNS,  Commercial  Agent 901  Fifth  Street 

San  Francisco,  Cal. — A.  S.  MANN,  District  Passenger  Agent Flood  Building 

San  Jose,  Cal. — E.  SHILLINGSBURG,  District  Passenger  and  Freight  Agent 40  E.  Santa  Clara  Street 

Seattle,  Wash.— E.  E.  ELLIS,  General  Agent 608  First  Avenue 

Spokane,  Wash.— W.  R.  SKEY,  Travelling  Passenger  Agent  O.  R.  &  N.  Co 603  Sprague  Avenue 

St.  Louis,  Mo. — J.  G.  LOWE,  General  Agent 902  Olive  Street 

Sydney,  Australia — V.  A.  SPROUL,  Australian  Passenger  Agent 5  Gresham  Street 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.— F.  T.  BROOKS,  New  York  State  Agent 212  W.  Washington  Street 

Tacoma,  Wash. — Robt,   Lee,   Agent Eleventh  and   Pacific  Avenue 

Walla  Walla,  Wash.— R.  BURNS,  Dis.  Frt.  and  Passenger  Agent,  O.  R.  &  N.,  and  O.  &  W 

Washington,  D.  C.— A.  J.  POSTON,  General  Agent,  Washington-Sunset  Route 905  F.  St.  N.  W. 

RUDOLPH  FALCK,  General  European  Agent,  Amerikahaus,  25,  27  Ferdinand  Strasse,  Hamburg,  Germany; 

49  Leadenhall  Street,  London,  E.  C.,  England;  22  Cockspur  Street,  London,  England;  25  Water  Street, 
Liverpool,  England;  118  Wynhaven  S.  S.  Rotterdam  Netherlands;  11  Rue  Chapelle  de  Grace  Antwerp 
Belgium;  39  Rue  St.  Augustin,  Paris,  France. 

A  247  (5-23-10—  20M) 


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